The Beautiful Beats
by cinematic daydreams
Summary: After being accepted into The Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance, Kim's finding it hard to adjust. She was chosen for a lead in the End of Year showcase, causing her to be hated by most and she's got a mean girl as a roommate trying to ruin her slowly. The friends Kim makes keep her head above water, but things become complicating after she starts falling for the DJ, Jack Brewer. / AU.
1. Impressions

**A/N:**

Okay, now please don't hate me. I swear I'm making the best choice for everybody. I deleted _The Beauty and The Beat_ because it wasn't going anywhere and I totally gave up on it because I don't think I planned the story properly. I'm not giving up on the idea of the dance genre idea. I've decided to rewrite the story and change it completely.

Basically, Kim gets into a dance school and is one of the few dancers who is chosen to perform in the showcase at the end of the year, but is practically being eaten away by all the pressure. Of course, she meets people along the way that change her for the better and she falls in love with a skate rat slash music freak who deejays like a pro. It's a little along the lines of _The Beauty and The Beat_ but I've just changed it up. And I'm not giving up on this story, or any of my others.

Now, please enjoy my first chapter (and I swear of many) of _The Beautiful Beats. _

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kickin' It_ or _Shelter_ by Birdy (a track which was originally done and produced by The xx) or _Mount Eden_ by Sierra Leone.

* * *

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**1**

**Impressions**

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* * *

"When you dance, you have to reach limits that have never been reached before. To reach those limits, you have to have this kind of emotion, an emotion that is universal and an emotion that can touch your audience. Dancing like that, ladies and gentleman, is what will get you into this school. I'm Bobby Wasabi and welcome to the auditions for The Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance."

When the man with the ponytail walked off the very stage Kim Crawford was about to perform on, she could feel her heart drumming loudly inside her chest. She could feel sweat beginning to develop on her brow as she tied her long blonde hair into a tight and neat bun. She looked around at her opponents, beginning to feel really intimidated.

Getting into The Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance was possibly one of the most prestiguse and honorable opportunities out there. It opened up many doors for your dancing career, your future planned out after just being accepted. Bobby Wasabi himself was a dancing legend, and just being in his presense was an honor already.

The academy had been around for years after Bobby Wasabi had retired from the dance industry, and offered to share his wisdom with the world. It was unusual for the school to be located within a city like Seaford instead of New York or Los Angeles. But because it was were the legend had originated from, he just found it comforting to have his opperation close to home.

To say the least, Kim had been preparing for this all her life. When her mother got a job offer to migrate just outside of Seaford, Kim also took it as a chance to take a risk and try out for the academy. She didn't know how a small town girl from Tennessee was going to be getting into a school like Bobby Wasabi's, but she had to try. She had faith in herself.

Kim wanted this more than anything else in the world. Dancing was her absolute passion and to make a living out of it was all she could ask for. She came moving out of the womb and has been breathing it ever since. She started up her ballet career when she was as young as five years old and made it to pointe by the time she was twelve. She was what her choreographer called a prodigy. But taking a look around at all the people she was competing with, Kim wasn't so sure she was the only one.

The building itself was so overwhelmingly beautiful, Kim could have exploded. It looked like a university instead of just a school, the gardens outstanding and every inch of the place built with perfection. The studios were the best part of what Kim had seen. Obviously not being allowed to try so herself, but when she was told that the studios had spring floors, the pressure began to weigh even more on her shoulders, and she felt the even stronger urge to kick some ass.

All the dancers were led backstage, where they had to prepare themselves. Kim waved back at her mother, who was sitting in the audience with the other nervous parents, and the woman blew a kiss back at her daughter, watching her disappear after a myserious door. When they eventually reached behind the stage, where lots of dressing tables and mats where laid out. Instinctively, everyone spread out and took their positions, immediately starting to get ready.

A little lost, Kim placed her gym bag next to another at a nearby dressing table, taking pins out the front pocket and stuck them into her bun, trying not to disrupt the thin net that had been placed over it by her mother. She inspected her face in the mirror in front of her, seeing the hazel eyes and rosy cheeks she always saw when she looked into reflective glass. She fixed her posture, already prepping for the stage. When she heard the first person's name being called up onto the stage, something in her flipped. She was really nervous for this.

"They can smell fear." Kim looked into the mirror and saw where the voice was coming from. "Don't let them scare you." The girl was unfamiliar, and she too was fixing up her bun behind Kim. She was really pretty, Kim had to admit, and certainly did have the balletrina kind of zest, due to her little ballerina body whih still had curves in the right places and her piercing eyes. Her facial features did look slightly foreign with her think but think lips and her slight narrow eyes and she was already dressed in a leotard and stockings.

Kim turned her head after sticking her last pin into her bun, smiling at the girl who had given her advice. Maybe talking to someone would help her ignore the crazy butterflies in her tummy. "You've been to one of these before?"

"Too many times," The brunette said, rolling her eyes, like she really did know. She looked like the type who did. "Not for Bobby Wasabi obviously, but for other people. How I win normally is just not showing them how scared I actually am. Maybe that's one of the main reasons why I never lose." Kim nodded, laughing at her remark.

Kim asked her, not really expecting an answer, "So, what's you secret?"

Unexpectedly, she replied, "I don't imagine myself here, really. I just imagine myself in my backyard. It might not sound as smart as I made it out to be but it really does work." The girl shrugged, seeing that her advice didn't help Kim's nerves too much. She still looked terrified. Trying to wipe away the tension, she offered out her hand. "I'm Grace."

Kim nodded her head, taking her hand and shaking it, smiling because she had made her first friend after just moving to Seaford. "I"m Kim. Really nice to meet you."

* * *

"What shall you be performing today?" A very slim and scary woman asked from the judging table, Kim feeling many eyes looking at her up and down while she was standing on the stage, her black leotard a tad tight. They were calling names in alphabetical order. And even though her surname started with a C, she was one of the first to go, due to the lack of people with names that begin with A and B.

She restrained from losing her posture so the tightness wouldn't show. The lights were shining upon her in such a way, it actually calmed her. The nerves started to slowly fade away when she could feel that the music would be coming soon, and soon she wouldn't care about people watching her anymore.

Kim took a deep breath before replying. "I'm going to be doing a contemporary piece to Shelter by Birdy which I choreographed myself." Doing a piece you choreographed yourself wasn't always a good choice when auditioning for something, but Kim had confidence in her piece and she knew that she'd be able to make it work in such a way it would seem like magic.

Bobby Wasabi's plump face nodded towards the blonde. "Okay then, Ms. Crawford. Whenever you are ready."

The stage started to darken slowly, Kim bowing her head and taking her starting position. Her heart rate started to slow down and it wasn't speeding in fear anymore. Everything and everyone around her started to fade slowly, the intimidating details no longer a part of her vision. Her body and her mind began to seperate but somehow stay intact in such a way they still co-operated with each other. It was like Kim was possessed. When the vocals of the song had begun, Kim's limbs were free from her control as they were now moving with the music.

"_I find shelter in these ways._

_Undercover, hideaway."_

Her arms were swaying and her feet were leaping small distances, her body beginning to stretch and move in such ways that just caused Kim to lose herself. When she danced, she thought about what the dance meant to her, and how the music seemed to complete everything. She thought about the fact that her father had disappeared a few years ago and how he was never found.

"_Can you hear when I say,_

_I have never felt this way."_

She thought about how angry it made her that she had to leave all of her friends and family behind to come to Seaford from Tennessee, and how she possibly left her father there too. She thought about how happy she seemed to everyone else but inside, she was angry and afraid of the truth. She thought about how she was better off not knowing anything at all and sometimes pretending that like normal parents, her parents had filed a divorce. That's what she told all her friends.

Her choreographer had told her it was dangerous to contact such emotion during a piece but it was her dangerous thoughts that kept it flowing and real. Her body reached the floor as she began to emerge in floor work, reaching her legs out and stretching them apart, her arms slowly ascending upwards into the air.

"_Maybe I had said something that was wrong._

_Can I make it better with the lights turned on?_

_Maybe I had said something that was wrong._

_Can I make it better with the lights turn on?"_

As the tempo began to slowly speed up in such a little way she barely noticed, her movements became more aggressive and more angry, but it was done in a graceful way that she had made sure she'd perfected. She could feel her emotion come into play especially with this section of her dance. Not once did her eyes hover over the panel of judges. She completely blocked them out.

"_Could I be? Was I there?_

_I felt so crystal in the air. _

_I still want to drown whenever you leave._

_Please teach me gently how to breathe._

_And I'll cross oceans like never before,_

_So you can feel the way I feel it too._

_And I'll mirror images back to you,_

_So you can feel the way I feel it too."_

The music faded when Kim took her last stance, her arms held in a strong position, her neck stretched out and her feet parallel from each other. Her chest was heaving but she was sure to keep her poise and hide how tired she actually really was. When the music had faded compeletely, she stood properly and walked towards the judges, ignoring her mother who was in the audience in tears.

The slim lady and Bobby Wasabi looked at each other and then down at their clipboards. She put her head up and sighed, her face straight and scary. Kim felt nervous shivers sweep down her forearms, and she gulped. The woman spoke. "You're a Southern Bell, aren't you?"

Kim nodded, debating quickly whether to respond or not. "Yes, ma'am."

The woman gave her a side smile, but it disappeared after a millisecond. "Not only did the accent tip it off but also the technique. Don't get me wrong, it was superb, but at the same time terrifying to watch. It was only near the end you had gained the confidence to reach to the limits. Not only were you delayed, but you didn't succeed. You didn't reach the limits you are capable of. I can see that you are a born talent, Ms. Crawford, but you need to be more precise, more focused and certainly more balanced."

Kim's heart sank. She thought she did really well, maybe one of the best jobs she'd ever done. She was so sure she'd nailed it. She had understood not to get her hopes up. Bobby cleared his throat and looked at Kim seriously, never moving his eyes from her now. Her heart began to beat fast again. "Even though the dance was nearly a mess, you seemed to make it beautiful. You had this emotion, the kind that certainly reached me. It certainly wasn't perfect, but it was really _something_. It was real. We could always perfect your moves and your posture, but emotion we can't teach. It's something that should come by itself and that part was perfect."

Kim felt a smile slowly growing on her face. Bobby nodded his head and she trotted of the stage, the heavy weight she had on her back before her performance lifted. She didn't think she'd ever felt more overjoyed that one of the greatest dancers in all history had told her that the emotion in the dance was perfect. And to think she'd been so heartbroken after his conpanion had told her quite the opposite of good.

Still she couldn't get her hopes up. That was always dangerous.

* * *

The Monday morning in Seaford was bright as Kim exited out of her mother's BMW. Her worries were starting to eat her up inside. She looked up at the big brick school and felt the butterflies return to her stomach. She had never been the new kid before in her life, and it certainly was nerve-wrecking because she was one of the few that were accepted mid-year. Even though her social side was top notch and her smile was approachable, it didn't help the fact that there was no other that seemed that way as she surveyed the school students.

It wasn't any different from a normal private school. There were kids in uniforms and they had their school bags which contained their fair share of books most probably. But here and there there were a few ballerinas and others dressed in dancing attire instead of uniform.

Kim looked down at her uniform and sighed at its blue color. She didn't think it was that bad – the sky blue tunic dress, the black stockings and the black school shoes, followed by her black blazer – but it was still uniform. The length of her skirt seemed to worry her as well, since it was a bit too short and above midthigh. She tried not to worry though and prayed the wind would treat her well.

She looked back into the car window and looked at the reflection of her face. She'd applied light make up and put her hair in low pigtails, and she thought she looked pretty cute. She didn't look like a dancer that much, but it didn't matter. All she had to be right now was herself. After checking her face, she went to the trunk of the car and got out her two big suitcases, her mother climbing out the driver's seat.

"You didn't forget anything, did you, honey?" Kim's mother asked, closing the trunk for her daughter, who was a spitting image of herself. Kim started to go through the mental check list in her head.

_Warm and cold clothes?_

_Check._

_All school books and textbooks?_

_Check._

_Dance clothes?_

_Check._

_Things to decorate dorm room with?_

_Check ... or not. She forgot her lava lamp. _

Other than that, Kim had everything she thought she needed to survive her first semester. The next time she'd possibly see her mother was during Christmas. Because of her busy schedule, Mrs. Crawford never had time to pop in and see her daughter at all the boarding schools she had sent her to. She was always out of the country, busy being the busy fashion designer she was. Kim didn't mind most of the time, because living with your best friends at school was pretty legit.

Kim shook her head, knowing she'd survive without the lamp. "Got everything I need, Mom. Don't sweat it okay?" They'd been through this many times, and it was always the same. Kim would hug her mother tightly and then her mother would start crying and claim she was just sweating through her eyes, even though she's sure as hell there are rain clouds on the way – which was weird, because it had just been summer.

"I love you," Mrs. Crawford said, letting go of her daughter.

Kim nodded. "I love you too. Now go before I start crying." She pushed her mother towards her car, standing by her suitcases and watching as the tall blonde woman made her way back into her car, sliding her sunglasses back down to her eyes and putting her fingers through her hair in such a messy but still managed to look very attractive. Mrs. Crawford blew kisses before starting up the car and getting ready to reverse out of her parking space in front of the school.

When the BMW was on its way out, Kim sighed to herself, watching it disappear. She looked down at her bags and sighed again, already fed up with the fact that she had to start over again. She wanted this badly though, and doors had opened. This was the type of offer nobody just dusted off.

Everything now depended on first impressions.

And Kim had to make a jolly good one.

_Smile?_

_Check._

* * *

Bobby Wasabi turned in his seat, and looked at Kim straight in the eyes. She was a little startled by his sudden attack with his locks but tried to hide it behind a smile. Bobby nodded towards the secretary who had led Kim into the office and she made her way house, closing the door behind her, leaving the blonde and the legenday Wasabi alone.

The office smelt like very fancy wood. It was the first think Kim took note of. She also took note of the pictures of himself back in the glory days everywhere, a portrait of him and his family on his desk and his book case full of things he might have never read before anyways. It was really clique – the kind she saw in all the teenage films. Back in Germantown, her principal's office was nothing like this. Maybe a smidge, but she didn't go overboard when it came to decor.

Unexpectadly, the man smiled. "Welcome, Kim Crawford, to The Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance." Just the way he said it make her even more nervous than she already was. "First of all, how are you feeling right now?"

"I'm feeling really good," Kim said, deciding to lie to him so there wouldn't be any hastle. "I already feel like I'm at home."

"That's always good to hear," Bobby said, handing Kim a large envelope. "Here, darling. For you. It's all you need to know to survive your first semester here. Your assignments are in there, the school map, list of studio times and the names of teachers." Kim took the envelope with any hesitation. She treated it like gold because after all, if she were to lose it, she would be screwed in the butt hole.

"Thank you," Kim said.

Bobby nodded. "In there is also your dorm room. You'll start to recognize that we are a unisexual dance academy and that we room and bathe in different areas of course. There are three buildings. The first are both the boys and girls dorms. I'm sure you'll find your way. The second is the utility facility. Where the studios are located and where the auditorium is. The third is the cafeteria and a few other classrooms that provide with subjects that aren't associated with dance. The first block is called Alpha, the second is Beta and the third is Gamma." Oh lovely, Greek. "The map tells you more information but I thought I should tell you the basics."

Kim smiled again, afraid she was smiling a little too much. "Thank you so much, Mr. Wasabi." Kim got up, hugging the envelope to her chest tightly, ready to walk out of the office when Bobby stopped her.

"Kim?"

She turned around. "Yes, Mr. Wasabi?"

"Assembly is at eight thirty. That gives you a few minutes to settle down."

Kim nodded, acknowloging what he had said. "Thank you."

And with that, she left.

* * *

The traffic that she was met with in the hallways wasn't very nice. Because everyone had just come back from Christmas break, they were saying hello to each other, as if they hadn't seen each other in forever. She didn't like the fact that they had to do this in the middle of the hallways. She just thought it would be best to get to her dorm without exploding.

Looking up from her assignment sheet, she was met with her dorm door. After breathing in and out a few times and telling herself that everything was going to be fine, she opened the door, her suitcases following behind her. In the room was three beds, and judging by the figure huntched over one of the beds, she assumed it was one of her roomates.

When the girl zipped up erect, she looked a little surprised, but her features calmed down and a warm smile grew. Kim exhaled. Finally. Someone who looked friendly. She did look like the type who'd be interested in modern and ballet. Her hair was a sharpai sort of color, neither red or brunette but in between. She had on glasses and her hair was in a high ponytail behind her head, her blazer not on. It was like the sort of person who definitely was a vision of academic perfection.

The girl walked quickly towards Kim, offering out her hand. "You must be one of the new girls! I'm Julie. I'm your roomate, obviously. I'm just really grateful that I got you in my dorm – otherwise I'd be stuck with the devil all by myself."

Devil? Kim shook the gir – _Julie's _hand. "I'm Kim. I'm really happy you're happy to be with me. I swear, you're the first welcoming person I've seen around here. Everyone looks so snooty."

Julie rolled her eyes, skipping to her bed and then jumping onto it, her suitcase open and overflowing on her floor. "Oh, believe me, it is how it looks. Not that I'm trying to scare you at all or anything. I'm just trying to be honest. It's not like there are no nice people though. Just hang out with the right people and you'll be fine."

Kim nodded, taking this all in.

_Make sure to hang out with right people._

_Ignore all the bitches. And this devil Julie speaks of._

_Who is also going to be rooming with them. Just fabulous._

Kim made her way to the bed she chose for herself and settled her suitcase onto her bed and the other was still upright on the floor. She opened her first one and started unpacking her clothing into the chest of drawers which had been placed beside her bed. While she was unpacking and getting started on decorating, she decided to make some small talk with Julie. "How long have you been going here?"

"Long," Julie said, giggling slightly, stopping what she was doing and resting on her bed, looking at Kim as she was work. She'd packed back all the clothes she took back home for Christmas. "Since I was in eight grade. So, I've been at the school for two years ... and a half."

"And what do you specialize in?"

"Jazz and tap, I guess. I don't mind ballet either, though." Surprise, surprise. "What about you, Kim?"

"Contemporary. Ballet as well, but I also find a liking for hip-hop and freestyle. I dabble. I'm kind of versatile," Kim admitted, sighing heavily when she realized she was finished packing half of her suitcase. It didn't take that long, did it?

Just before Julie was about to say something, the swung open, the commotion from outside being heard in. The door closed as quick as it opened though, and there at the door stood the replica of a Barbie doll who looked like (judging by her slight tan) she had just waddled of the streets of California. She was very pretty, like perfection. She was the typical popular cheerleader type of girl – only right now she was wearing hot shorts and a crop top. A little too revealling for Kim's liking. Julie, however, was used to seeing the girl in such a state.

Kim smiled, standing up straight, waving slightly. "Hello there. I'm Kim. I'm new and I'm your roomate."

The girl looked Kim up and down, making her feel just a little bit insecure about how she was looking. Her eyes were narrow and her lips were pursed, but she still managed to look like a model. "I heard we were going to be put with someone else after Gretchen left. Such a shame. She was so fun to tease. Has anyone told you you're very pretty?"

Kim blushed, tucking in her locks behind her ear. "I don't get it a lot, but thank you."

The other blonde smiled, stretching out her hand and shaking Kim's. Her green eyes glazed upon her in such a manner it was frightening. Actually, the girl had been giving off scary vibes ever since she entered the room. She was the devil Julie had been talking about. "I'm Donna Tobin. I can already see that we're going to be great friends."

Kim could see Julie's dirty stare from the corner of her eye. Kim didn't know what else to say other than, "I'm glad."

She was pretty sure she wasn't, though.

* * *

The dancing studios were beautiful, as Kim had recognized. She didn't realize how many people were interested in contemporary until she came out of the changing rooms, seeing the many girls and boys in the room, stretching and socializing. The girls were dressed in simple clothing, either in leggings, leotards or crop topss and the guys were wearing the traditional black track pants and sleeveless vest tees. Kim wasn't used to mirrors practically all over the room, covering two walls instead of just one.

There was something the Southern blonde recognized in the corner of the room. She narrowed her eyes at the boy who was mixing soft and calm beats. His head was hunched over, his headphones over his head, which was bobbing in time with the beats, therefore she couldn't see his face. She was really facisnated by his presence for some reason, and couldn't tear her eyes away from him. Wait? Was that a DJ? Kim didn't have time to suspect anything at all, because she was attacked from behind.

"Boo!" She heard, followed by somebody tickling her sides, causing her to squeal and turn to see a familiar face she was glad to see. "I know he's delicious, but don't you think you need to stretch?"

"Oh my God, Grace?" Kim said, smiling widely. "You got in!"

"I never lose," The brunette reminded her, waving her index finger in the air. "And if they didn't let me in, I was going to blame them for eliminating me out of the running because of my learning mental disability. Oh my gosh, I didn't expect this school to be so full of girls who think it's cool to not wear clothes at all."

Ignoring the personal detail Grace had shared, Kim focused on the second part of the sentance. "Tell me about it," Kim rolled her eyes, starting to wave her arms in the air and start to stretch one across her chest, holding it in place with the other. Her eyes looked around the room before she saw the devil she'd been looking for. "You see that girl over there?" She nodded towards Donna. "She's my roomate. My other roomate, Julie, was calling her the devil before I met her."

Donna didn't look very promising, in her hot shorts and crop top that was cropped a little to high above the stomach and too low below the chest, exposing everything. Grace didn't resist the urge to roll her eyes in disgust at this. "She might as well dance butt naked."

There was clapping which sounded from the far end of the studio, everyone whipping their heads to the source of the sound. There stood a short little blonde man dressed in track pants and a white T-Shirt. He looked old but at the same time young. Judging by the muscles in his arms, he was for sure their dance teacher.

"Line up," he ordered, and Kim caught up along with everyone else, starting to form a straight line that led across the studio with the others. The choreographer started to walk among his students, intimidating Kim to an extent. It made her really nervous that he was breaking in the carbon dioxide they all exhaled. He stopped when he reached Grace and I, smiling. "You two are new?"

We both nodded. The man nodded, putting a hand on his chest. "Well, I'm Rudy, and I'm your contemporary dance teacher. This is a little advance so don't feel left out if you feel behind, okay, lovies?" Kim nodded stiffly, Grace not saying anything at all but both of them keeping their heads up high. "But maybe you could prove to everyone that you were put in this class for a reason, hm?"

Kim raised her hand. Everyone's eyes turned to her, including Rudy's. Kim's heart was beating loudly, but she had to make a good first impression. She believed that she was ready to show everyone that she wasn't just some new girl. Rudy looked at Kim wearily, like she smelt funny but was trying to hide that he knew. "Ms. Crawford, correct?"

Kim smiled. "Yes, sir. I'd like to volenteer. I want to prove myself."

Grace looked at Kim like she was crazy, but Rudy looked at her like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Prove yourself?" Kim nodded and Rudy shrugged. "Okay, brave heart. Show us what you're made of. The floor is all yours."

Kim stepped aside, trying to ignore the eyes on her. She stepped into the middle of the room, her mind racing. She didn't know what she was going to do but she was just going to have to improvise. She didn't let it bother her, though. Once she heard the music, she knew she was going to feel it. She looked at the DJ, who had his face up now.

She couldn't help but recognize what a nice face he had. He was very attractive. He had brown hair and chocolate eyes, two moles on both cheeks and his white beats hanging around his neck, opposite of the black clothing he was wearing, which was also opposite of dance wear. She wasn't going to let the fact that a hot DJ was going to be mixing for her distract her from her mission.

"Can I make a request?" Kim asked, playing with her fingers, her feet moving and unstill, but she still remained in the same spot.

The DJ shrugged, giving her a little smile. She felt all funny inside. "Go for it."

"Something different," Kim said. "Dubstep." He was a little startled by the request, she could see but he calmed his face down before anyone could see. Kim could feel that everyone else, especially Rudy, where a little disgusted by her request. "I'm not asking for something unfamiliar, am I?"

The attractive DJ widened his eyes a little and shook his head. "No. I can do it."

"But make it soft and calming though. Nothing to hectic," Kim said, looking as if she was not sure if he got it, but when he smiled, she smiled as well. He looked down at his equipment and started doing whatever he was supposed to do and Kim just prepared herself for the music that was about to come.

The music started blasting loudly but softly through the speakers, Kim standing in her stop for a period of two slow bars. The background vocals in the dong continued for the duration of them and as soon as the third bar had come and the soft but noticable dubs in the backgroud were heard, her body starting doing gentle movements, her feet following their lead, her body stretching and her mind coming into focus, her audience fading away.

A robot voice sounded.

"_Let's have a game with happy and sad music._

_When you hear the happy music, play your rhythum sticks._

_Just like this ..."_

She imagined herself in a war field when the bass dropped delicately, her body gracefully attacking the enemies coming towards her. She felt a little more angry than she supposed she was supposed to. She dropped her body weight, her leg stretching out her side, her hands supporting her sinking body. It was as if she were waiting for her prey, ready to pounce.

She began robotic movements, trying to mix a little culture into her on-the-stop routine. She was playing around with what she was doing and was really enjoying herself, and she could tell everyone else was too. She felt her lips tug into a smile a few times.

When she felt it was right, she stopped in a floor position, her knees outstretched and her face looking up at everyone who was watching her, her chest heaving. The music just naturally faded away in the background, knitting everything together perfectly. When she saw how surprised everyone was, she declared her mission a success. Rudy looked down at her with such astonishment and even smiled down at her.

But she didn't know whether he was impressed or amused.

"You break the rules," Rudy nodded, allowing Kim to get up and rejoin the line. When she did, she felt Rudy examine her face one more time, before speaking again. "I like it." Kim smiled, Rudy continuing to explain something else but she couldn't listen. She was just so happy. Her mental celebration was of course brought to an end when she was interrupted by the person on her left.

"That was swag," He whispered, nudging her in the side. She laughed quielty at the Latino, feeling much better about the whole fitting in thing. Making friends wasn't that hard after all. "You're really good."

"Thank you," Kim said softly, before her eyes drifted across the room at the person who had composed her music. "All compliments go to the DJ, though, am I right?" She shrugged, staring at him for a minute as he fiddled around with something on his plugged in Apple laptop. Not expecting to, she caught his eyes, and mouthed a thank you his way, just because she felt the need to be really nice to him. If he didn't do the music right, the whole thing would have been a flop.

But the thing that really fascinated Kim even more was how good he was with the whole mixing thing.

The DJ didn't mouth back, but he did shoot a smile and a thumbs up, Grace immediately following his eyes, already attracted to the drama.

The school wasn't what Kim had expected. Sure, there were the Barbies and the really scary dance teachers, but somehow, just somehow ...

It was better.

* * *

**A/N:**

Well, I hope you're all happy with the chapter. I really am. It's one in the morning down here and I'm really rushing to get this published because I wanted you guys to see this badly. Obviously, the characters have changed and not all of them have been introduced, but all of that shall be sorted by the next chapter, or the third. Which ever. I'm not going to rush because the stories always fail when they're rushed.

Please review, alert, PM, anything and tell me what you think? Do you think this is better and more thoughtout or horrible and needs to be rid of? Please just tell me what you think. I'd like to know that you guys are as confident for this story as I am c:

See you guys in a bit!

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


	2. Surprises

**A/N:**

I'm sorry that I took so long to update this chapter. I rewrote it five times, actually, no lie. I was really struggling with it and I don't know why, because I've planned out every single chapter of this story but still, things just came out terribly wrong and nothing was going right and I was so busy. This whole week has been a mess for me, so this afternoon, I stuck my butt down onto my bed and forced myself to write until everything was perfect. Thank the Lord that I got it right the first time I tried today.

Aside for my excuse of the late update, I just want to thank you so much for all the lovely and wonderful reviews and the alerts and everything! You guys are just all so amazing and I'm really glad that I have your support! You are all the reason why I write. c: Some of you were slightly confused and I laughed my head off at that one review by the "hippie" who said that it was ridiculous everyone judged Donna by her choice of clothing. I hope that I gave you a better reason to hate her in this chapter.

I should stop with the insanely long author's note. I can tell that you really don't care maybe, so why don't we get to the story? Enjoy the second chapter of _The Beautiful Beats_, everyone.

**Disclaimer: **Me no own _Kickin' It_.

* * *

**::**

**2**

**Surprises**

**::**

* * *

"**Why do you dance?"**

"_I'm myself when I dance. It's like an escape from the real world and you just enter this other one that's completely your own."_

"_Dancing is basically my life. I breathe it, I love it, and I live it."_

"_When I dance, I'm somewhere else. I enjoy being somewhere else."_

"_I can't help it, sometimes. The music just takes over and I just begin to move and all my worries just fade away. I dance to feel invincible, because that's how I feel when I am. That there's no one who can touch me and break me down."_

"_I'm not pretending when I dance."_

"_I've just loved it ever since I was a kid and I don't think I'll ever let it go."_

"_I was born into dancing so I didn't have a choice at first. But if I did, I'd have chosen dance anyway."_

"_It's my passion, a passion I love sharing with everyone."_

"_I breathe it."_

"_Dance has a way of getting me to express emotions that I can't show in any other form, really."_

"_I've never put so much effort into something like dance."_

* * *

Jerry was smiling down at his Canon camcorder, standing in the studio after hip hop, his last class of the day, running through all the footage he'd been able to gather on the first day. It was a miracle he was able to gather so much in one day. Normally, he wasn't so lucky. All he could think about right now was getting back to his dorm and editing all his footage and get all of him film to Bobby Wasabi by the end of the month spotless.

It was really nice of Mr. Wasabi to give Jerry such an honor not because he was Jack Brewer's best friend and they have been ever since they were peas in a pod, but because Bobby saw some kind of light of potential in Jerry when it came to film. Film, besides dancing, was one of the only things that he was great at. It was just a weird talent that he'd discovered not so long ago, and ever since he'd been dabbling. He knew for sure that he wanted to do dance after school though. Directing was only a hobby after all.

He turned the camera off, the lens retreating back and the screen growing dark. He shoved the camera into his duffel bag, the sound of the stuffing starting to echo in the empty room. He looked up to see Jack's DJ equipment still out and unpacked, so he thought he could only do him a favor by helping him out with that part.

The Latino was headed to the setup, his bag around his shoulder and his reflection in the mirror, mirroring him in his black track pants and his white top, following him across the studio. He tried to ignore the squeaking of his Supras, finally seeing why their choreographer seemed so touchy about them during the lesson.

He came to an abrupt stop though when he heard something like arguing coming from outside the studio. He put down his bag when he heard the argument becoming a little louder, recognizing the voices, which were shouting from just outside the studio door. He looked out the window, sensing his direction might have been wrong, but in the end, he knew the shouting match was taking place outside, long after everyone was gone.

Everyone else was either in their dorms, preparing for assembly, which had been called again this afternoon, followed by dinner afterwards, and then they'd have to have one last dancing lesson or they were outside, chatting amongst themselves. Arguing outside the door at the moment wasn't dangerous.

Jerry was inching closer to the sounds by the second, trying to shut up his squeaking sneakers. He reached the door and was close enough to hear exactly what they were saying. He'd always been close enough, really, but being closer was wiser than assuming things from afar.

The female voice spoke. "Why are you being so goddamn snooty?"

"Why are you being so goddamn desperate?" The other voice shot back. Jerry's eyes widened in such surprise at his buddy's answer.

Jack and Donna Tobin had been dating for longer than Jerry's mind could record. They're the school's hottest couple. They have the kind of relationship that everyone envies due to its cuteness, which made it hard for people to understand how they were together in the first place. Jack was the sweetest soul to ever walk the earth maybe, too sweet for his own Jerry always told him, and Donna was the ice queen, the typical bitchy head cheerleader.

Boy, do opposites attract.

In Jack's (very misleading) eyes however, after really getting to know her one day after being the only two rehearsing for her ballet medal test solo (which she got a gold for in the end) one night, they had this really deep conversation that seemed to change his whole insight on her character. When Donna was with him, she was different – a good different.

They've fought before, yeah, because couples do that kind of thing, but during other arguments, Jack was always the calm one, the peacemaker who kept everything together. This was really serious, because Jack was even swearing at her, which was definitely a first with any girl.

Jerry could hear the blonde beauty snort. "I don't know what's been up with you lately, Jack, because you're seriously starting to get this attitude." Jack started laughing, but it sounded dry and hard. "You see that. You're being disrespectful."

"I have things to do other than spend every blinking miniscule minute with you, Donna, I'm sorry."

"We haven't seen each other all winter break!"

"And whose problem is that?" Jack snapped, making even Jerry jump, and he was almost thirty feet away from their conversation maybe. The Latino could sense his anger, making him shiver a little bit. "And you call me snooty! Says you, who jets off to England without a word and only telling me when you were halfway across the freaking globe. I can't just drop everything and wait on your hand and foot, Donna. I'm your boyfriend, not your slave. I'm not a toy either. All day, I can see you've been using me as some display of … I don't know, power."

Donna interrupted him before he could start another sentence. "Now you're just making things up, just to make yourself seem like you're the one who's been peachy and bearable and that you have done nothing wrong. You always make things up and making me feel horrible about things I've never done!"

"I'm not a retard." There was a long pause, a pause where Jerry supposed they were just looking at each other because no movements were being made. "I love you, Donna. I'm probably the only person in this entire school who can tolerate you. When I hear what people say about you, I can't believe what I hear because I see things so much more differently. But lately, you've just been so controlling and difficult and I can finally see what they were talking about. So now I'm wondering if you've been lying about who you are this whole time."

Then there was a sniffling sound, like someone was crying. This also fascinated Jerry. Donna wasn't one of those girls who cried a lot, and seeing her tears was something rare – which must have meant this hurt a lot.

"I would never lie to you, Jack," Donna said, taking in soft breath. "I can't believe that you said that."

"Well, here has to be at least one honest person in a relationship, right?" Jack said softly, sighing. "I'm tired of feeling like everything is so one-sided."

"I'm sorry you feel that way."

"Me too."

The silence again. Jerry feared he was breathing too loud.

Jack spoke first out of the two. "I think we need a break."

Donna sniffled again, her feet making noise. "That won't work for me, Jack."

Jerry's best friend scoffed. "Of course it wouldn't. Everything has to go according to Donna's rules, am I right?"

Donna groaned, which wasn't usual, but just by breathing the same air as they currently were, Jerry could smell the dude testosterone. "Just stop it, okay, Jack!" Donna squeaking, shutting her partner right up. "If you think I'm so selfish and I'm so dishonest and whatever else, why don't you just walk away and relieve yourself from all the emotional torture I'm causing you? In fact, you can make your decision right now." By the end of what she had said, she was sobbing.

"You're just not the person I once loved. I can't stand seeing you hurt and seeing you cry but we can't drag something along and end up having it damage us both in the end." The silence was ever deafening.

There were footsteps that started to become constant, and soon they were distant. Jerry whistles to himself quietly while he heard the dumped girl crying behind the door of the studio.

It was kind of sad and tragic that they ended. Sure, the Latino was never a big fan of "Janna", but he just thought of all the things he'd have to put up with tonight when he got back to the dorms, where he'd have to face Jack and comfort him. When Jerry started to walk back to where his bag was, he realized something and pouted.

Jack had left his equipment behind.

* * *

"**When did you realize that you wanted to be a dancer?"**

"_Ever since I was little, I've wanted to be. It's just been a dream of mine."_

"_I remember I used to dance around and wreck things in the living rooms, just jamming to The Backstreet Boys or The Spice Girls. My parents thought I had some sort of disorder or something, but I just really liked dancing."_

"_When I saw my first ballet. It was magical. Watching all those people moved made me envious. I wanted to move like they could."_

"_As a kid, I was just always dancing to music in the grocery store. I couldn't stop it."_

"_I used to dance in my garage at night when everyone went to bed. I would just practice and practice."_

* * *

Jerry had been too busy looking down at his camera and listening to all the footage he had gotten from people that he didn't recognize a girl in front of him. Once he did see her, it was too late.

They collided with each other, the impact causing them both to tumble down onto the tiled floors, the brunette who he had unfortunately bumped falling right now on top of him, he being the cushion to break her fall. They were breathing against each other, their faces so close and their bodies right up on each other made it hard for the Latino to apologize, especially because the girl he had bumped into was really beautiful.

She had such soft features, her brown eyes piercing and forever smiling. She wasn't pale, but then not really tanned either. It was perfect. Her hair was tied in a really high bun, and judging by what she was wearing, she had just come back from jazz and tap. She was the first one to say something out of the two, breaking the ice.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I was on my phone and I wasn't really looking and oh my God, you have a camera and it looks expensive." She stopped herself from babbling on even more and stopped.

Jerry smirked up at her, amused by her getting nervous around him. "It's fate."

Rolling her eyes, the girl was stumbling up and off of the boys she had ambushed. She was a little freaked out by the fact that he actually enjoyed it. Jerry jumped up after her, looking down at his camera to see if there _were_ any scratches or damage at all. The Latino looked up at the concerned looking girl. "You're lucky it's still alive, chica. But because I am a gentleman, I'm going to say sorry too. So sorry."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "And why am I not convinced by that apology?"

"You're just gonna have to trust me on this one," Jerry winked, and the girl blushed. Quickly stuffing his camera underneath his armpit, he offered out his hand to the brunette in front of him. He didn't normally shake hands with people but he didn't want to make a bad impression on her. "You're new right?"

"Right," The girl said, nodding slowly, shaking Jerry's hands wearily, narrowing her smiling eyes at him, as if he were about to kidnap her and she knew it.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself," Jerry said, unhooking hand with the pretty dancer and mockingly licking his palm and sliding it in his hair. The girl didn't seem so impressed by the action. "I am Jerry Martinez, dance extraordinaire." The boy himself was pretty surprised with himself when he said the word. Then he thought about the fact that he didn't know how to spell it and felt all stupid again. Naturally, he started to do the moonwalk around the girl's still figure. "But around here, I'm also known as the swag master."

When Jerry heard the girl laugh, he felt his insides go funny. This wasn't a first, but it was the first time he just all of a sudden had actual and real feelings for a girl he had just met. Maybe he was just hungry, though. The girl nodded, taking this all in. "I'm Grace Wexler, newbie. But around here, I'm also known as … no, still newbie."

Jerry laughed and an idea sprung into mine of how he could silently win over her attention. He removed his camera from under his arm and brought it to life by clicking the power button. Grace looked really curious at when he was doing and began to look uneasy as well. "What do you think you're doing?" She sounded afraid.

The Latino giggled a girly one, lifting his camera to his right eye and pointing the lens at Grace the newbie who was also known as the newbie. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to record your gorgeous face." Grace went red before Jerry clicked record, but she didn't seem to know. She then saw the red light blinking and held her hand up in front of her face, starting to complain that she wasn't ready for her close up. "Please. It's for the showcase."

"Showcase?" Grace's eyebrows furrowed and then she lifted one slowly. "You guys have those?"

Jerry shook his head in dismay. "Girl, where have you been?"

Grace shrugged, but changed the subject slightly. "And what do you need me to do for this little showcase?"

"Just answer a few questions, and then you're free to go wherever you wanted to go, bro." Grace's eye twitched at the fact that a guy she barely knew had just referred to her as brow. She regretted reacting because now he had it recorded, and he could play it back and repeat it over and over and … "Why do you dance?"

Grace thought about this one for a little bit. She knew why, it just took her a little bit of time to put it into suitable words. "I dance to express what words really can't. Your body doesn't lie. It's really changed my life and I am who I am because of it. I dance because it molds me into a better person." She couldn't believe that she had just said how she really felt about it to a camera no less, but she shrugged it off, not letting her panic show on the surface. There was a chance Jerry would never use that part, right?

Jerry looked at her for a moment, before saying, "When did you start?"

Grace smiled into the camera lens. "I just basically came out of the womb kicking."

* * *

Kim's first day at The Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance had not been that bad at all. The teachers seemed to be fond of her already. She wanted to grasp some kind of attention, just so she can get recognized. She didn't mean to go so over the top but seeing all the other girls in her dancing classes throwing dirty looks her way told her that it was drawing the wrong attention to the wrong crowd too. Of course she didn't care, because she had made fast friends.

At lunch at noon, she had sat at a table with the five friends she had made. There was Julie Jenner, who was her crazy roommate who looked out for people and loved vegetables. Following after her was Grace Wexler, who she had met at the auditions, but had learnt she wasn't a big person on food judging by her lunch, which was barely eaten. There was also Milton Krupnik, Julie's really scrawny, really ginger and really smart boyfriend, who wasn't the best in the looks department, but he and Julie were so adorable. Last but certainly not least, the very memorable Eddie Lewis, who had balanced an apple on his nose.

She didn't feel as out of place as she had been scared of. She felt like she belonged here, that her space had been here all along. Walking into the auditorium full of dancers in their blue uniform, with Grace and Julie at her sides seemed just perfect. In this school, she'd learnt that when the bell rang for assembly, nobody seemed to line up and enter properly. But they had to get there fast, or they missed the whole assembly together when the doors closed. It has happened earlier.

Milton waved at us from the middle row, and we all quickly trotted up to him, taking the seats he had kept for us with his long legs.

Even when Kim sat down, she couldn't get over the beauty that was the auditorium. It looked like the kind of place where professionals would perform. It was huge, maybe even bigger than the Wal-Mart down three roads down. The curtains were dark and black, a lovely grand piano parked next to the stage and a podium, which was obviously put for the assembly. Maybe the tip off was that Bobby Wasabi was standing behind it, adjusting his microphone.

"Testing," He said, his voice filling the auditorium. "One, two, three." He cleared his throat quickly as people started to take their seats and settle down. When the audience was still and the attention focal point was drawn to Bobby Wasabi, he spoke. "Hello and good evening fellow teachers, guests and students, and welcome to the academy's fifteenth annual Honor's Evening, where we announce the roles our very own students shall perform in the Wasabi Showcase, which is an evening performed each year before we part with our talents soldiers."

From next to Kim, Julie gasped. "They've never announced all the roles this early. They normally give it a week or so." Kim's eyes widened as the girl next to her started hyperventilating. "But I haven't been able to impress any of the teachers yet, and when were they supposed to make their decisions anyways? Oh my …" She calmed down when Milton put a calming hand on her knee and whispered something into her ear, and then she nodded, smiling.

Kim smiled sadly at the two lovebirds, but returned her attention to Bobby. "…Come a long way and we thought we would really eliminate the pressure if we did it so today, while all of you were dancing, you were being tested without knowing. Now before we beginning the crowning of the roles of everyone, we have to go over the production code of conduct and the showcase rules."

Nobody seemed to be listening, though, because the soft chatter had sooner started up, everybody nervous about which part they would land. Kim was nervous out of her wits, but she was paying grave attention to what Bobby was saying.

In the showcase, you were either doing a solo, a duet, or you were going to be doing a group piece, which was the lowest there was really. Basically, it was compulsory for all learners of the school to participate in this event unless Bobby Wasabi himself denied the fact. All the dance pieces were not to be choreographed by a teacher, a certified professional or anyone outside of the school. The dance had to be one developed by the dancer or dancers. If the choreography is stolen, disqualification and expulsion will take place. The following procedures would also take place if any set equipment, costumes or people were tampered with on the evening of the showcase.

At this point, Kim's foot was shaking, and she saw that Grace was fiddling with her fingers greatly, hewing on her bottom lip hard. She wasn't able to listen anymore. All the voices in her head were telling her that she wasn't going to make it and that she'd be stuck in a group dance, but she knew she had danced really well today.

"Now for our first nominations, our soloists." The atmosphere inside the auditorium was very thick and uneasy, everyone anxious to see what they were going to get. You never know how well you were dancing today until you see your results. "The following persons were chosen based on ability, balance, accuracy and their visible passion for what they were doing, even though it was just a lousy class exercise." This got a few laughs out of people, but Kim didn't laugh. She was too nervous.

Bobby cleared his throat again as all the teachers who taught dance at the school filed smartly onto the stage, taking their neatly arranged stances looking out into the audience, their chins held high and their attire looking professional. Kim gulped when Mr. Wasabi breathing into the mind. "Our solo performer in the jazz and tap genre is going to be …" there was a slight pause, everyone on the edge of their seats and wondering who would be lucky to land such a roll. "Milton Krupnik."

Nobody seemed to expect it, and when the director of the school said his name, everyone stopped for a split second to let their mouths fall open slightly in surprised. But a second later, the awkward feeling was gone, and everyone was happy. Everybody burst into cheering applause, the ginger seeming to be surprised as well. He froze in his seat for a few before Julie forced him off of it, the boy springing up and making his way up the aisle in the middle of all the seats, making his way up to the stage.

Kim and her newly made friends watched in awe at Milton walk up the stage steps and receive a hand shake from the director, shaking hands with the rest of the music department which stood upon the stage as well. The kid came back down from the stage just as soon as he had gotten up, the applause dying down after that. When Milton was seated by next to his girlfriend, she gave him a kiss on the cheek, and Kim and Grace gave him low fives.

The man in a ponytail on the stage tapped the mike lightly. "Settle down, settle down," Bobby Wasabi said into the microphone, everyone obeying him. "Thank you. Now for the next nomination. Our solo performer in the hip-hop and/or freestyle genre goes to …" There was that silence again, the one where everyone was leaning on the edge of their seats. "Brody Carlson."

The audience erupted into that applause again, but Kim didn't clap as loud because she didn't know who in the world Brody was, but she recognized him from her hip-hop in the morning. He was in fact really good and he totally deserved getting the part that he did. Feeling good about someone else was of course Kim's way of distracting herself from her nerves. It had only walked for the duration Brody was called and came off the stage though.

The crowd eased up by themselves this time, Bobby having no need to tell them to be quiet. "Our solo performer for the ballet genre is going to be …" Kim's stomach flipped over completely. The reason it did was because ballet was something she was actually skilled at and her being the lead would get her recognition and maybe even popular. She didn't really care about the last part though, but it was just a bonus that came with everything. "For the second time in a row, Donna Tobin."

Kim's spirit fell as the loudest applause was roared for Donna, her long dirty blonde ponytail swinging wildly as she made her way up onto the stage, her skirt a little too short, but possibly not as short as Kim's. That fact made her feel a little ashamed. Donna looked so happy shaking hands with everyone once again and made a vow to herself to try and get to know Donna for her good side, and not the side everyone else claimed for her to have.

Maybe the reason they hadn't chosen her for something as extravagant as the solo role was because she was new at the school, and maybe it was also because as her ballet teacher Joan Paterson described at her routine at her auditions that her technique wasn't squeaky clean and that she had poor posture. The thoughts made Kim feel really depressed but she knew now not to get her hopes up for anything.

"Our final and last category," Bobby smiled from the stage, looking down at the sheet of paper he had in his hands. He looked down at it for a fairly long time, and then he leaned into the microphone. "For the first time in the history of The Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance, our solo lead for contemporary has been taken by a newcomer. Ladies and gentleman, our solo performer in the contemporary and/or modern genre is going to be Kimberly Crawford."

When she heard her name called, her whole world stopped. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of her heartbeat and her suddenly really heavy breathing. Her palms were becoming sweaty as she felt everyone's eyes shoot to her. The auditorium was still un-ordinarily silent when she stood up, smoothing out her skirt. She took a few deep breaths before stepping out of her row and into the aisle, walking slowly and carefully.

_**Head held high and a smile across her face?**_

_**Check.**_

The cheering began in the corner of the auditorium, and she knew where it came from because it was to get everyone to catch on, the boy had whistled. Her head whipped around to where the applause which gradually grew started from. She saw the face of none other than the DJ, or as Julie had called him earlier, Jack Brewer. He nodded towards the blonde who was ascending onto the stage, and she continues, turning her head right around and trotting up the stairs.

She was still in shock that she had managed to score this role at all.

She was so glad.

And when her hand made contact with Bobby Wasabi's hand after she'd reached the top surface of the stage, she shook it firmly. The man looked into her eyes and smiled at her a smile she never expected to see. He didn't seem so scary anymore. He seemed for approachable and sweet. "Go get them."

During that time, Kim felt victorious.

* * *

"**What brought you to The Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance?"**

"_When I auditioned for the school, I knew that I had some sort of potential, enough to make it in. I guess the rest is history."_

"_My passion for dancing. I wasn't really kidding at all when it came to dance and everyone who attends the academy takes dancing really seriously. I wanted to be one of the very few who make it out of the school successful."_

"_Dancing is my life, and I thought coming to the academy was somewhere where I could really live it and not get judged."_

"_My parents didn't really support me dancing so I practiced hard and auditioned. Then I got in and they had a change of heart."_

"_Hours of rehearsing and stretching."_

"_My love for dancing, of course."_

* * *

Jerry played back the loop of film on his laptop, listening to the sound and looking at the thumbnail that was presented in front of him. He recognized something while he was sitting in his dorm, the laptop heating up his lap and the screen being the only source of light he had. He looked across from him bed, hearing no snoring at all. He raised an eyebrow and switched on the lamp beside his bed, the room lighting up a little bit more.

Figures.

When both Jack and the guitar were both gone, you were not to question them at all.

After he sighed, Jerry went back to editing his day's film.

* * *

She shot up in her bed, her breathing heavy but soft, not being heard by others. Her eyes burst open, her heart rate uneven and her lips quivering. Her blonde locks were sticking to her forehead, her clothes sticking to her skin as well. The amount of sweat that had coated her was awfully dreadful, and she could smell it too. She could hardly feel her fingers she was so scared. She began to look around the dorm, just to check if anyone had seen or overheard her but her two roommates were still fast asleep, thank goodness. She didn't like it when people started asking question.

She thought the nightmares had stopped.

She hadn't had them in at least a year, and now they were back.

Normally, though, Kim was at home and she was able to get up and receive a glass of milk whenever her mind started to wander to places she didn't want them to. She wasn't at home now. She couldn't get up and try to get refreshments. She was at school. She couldn't stay in this room right now, though. She was becoming really paranoid.

She quickly got up from her bed and stripped off her hoodie, which she had accidentally fallen asleep one with. Maybe that's why the amount of sweat had been quite the amount. After slipping it off, she grabbed her school cardigan which had been lying on the floor and slipped it on, along with her Uggs which were also on the floor.

She took her phone and checked the time quickly, seeing it was past two in the morning. She didn't know if she was allowed to be wondering off around the campus at such times, but she really didn't care. She needed some fresh air. She put her phone into the pockets of her sweatpants.

Quietly, she made her way out of the door and began her way around the school. It was unusual seeing everyone and everything so still. Absolutely nobody on the girls side of the building was awake, and the ballrooms were unoccupied. Kim knew this because she had gone to wash her face, refreshing herself from all the sweating done. She washed her hands as well, because it was calming.

The bathroom was always where girls went to collect themselves after all.

She came out of the tiled wonderland, a portrait of Bobby Wasabi meeting with her eyes as soon as she got out. She continued to stroll, watching all the dorm number as she went along. Twenty two. Twenty. Eighteen. It was something that distracted her, and that was good.

After a flight of stairs, a few more bathroom and seventeen dorm doors, she reached outside finally, the fresh oxygen hitting her nostrils and she felt such serenity with herself already. The misty air was starting to creep in through her cardigan, her arms wrapping around herself.

The gardens of the school were also really pretty, Kim had noticed. She had always hard this thing for orchids and seeing that they were growing outside the school gave her the urge to just pick some and keep them in her room. The little hedges were tripped and proper, the fountains were sprouting out water even at this time of night. There were lights that lit up the gardens nicely, so seeing everything was not a problem. She wouldn't mind living here for the rest of her high school years.

She needed something like milk to drink down though, and it was really bothering. She thought there would be no harm at all in try to sneak into the kitchen of the school and getting a cup. They couldn't expel her because she was thirsty for some calcium.

She made her way to the third building, her Uggs scratching soothingly against the grass and gravel she walked upon. She exhaled loudly, seeing a cloud of mist escape her nose as well at her mouth. Her bangs were getting in the way of her vision, which was pretty weird because she had tied her hair into a messy bun.

Kim stopped.

She heard something.

She looked around, seeing if anyone was following her until she realized it was music.

She felt a smile creep onto her face.

Kim started heading the direction of the soft guitar strumming, and came to the third building anyway. She entered the already open glass doors, feeling a little strange walking into the classroom block at night. The music was getting closer, and soon, she had reached her destination. She hid behind the wall, making sure that she wouldn't be seen, but closed her eyes listening to the music.

It sounded like something Spanish, but it was also kind of sad and emotional, which made it even more beautiful. The picking drifted in the air so sweetly, making Kim forget about all the nightmare she had.

Finally finding the courage, she turned and walked into the classroom, looking for the creator of the music. She had been really shocked to see that it was Jack the infamous DJ, sitting on the table in the clothes he had been wearing all day. He mustn't have gone to bed at all yet.

The music stopped when Jack looked up, seeing Kim standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. He was never watched when playing music, unless it was just Jerry. But Jerry was Jerry after all, so his opinions didn't really matter as much as the opinion of a girl who had just started at this school.

"Don't stop," Kim said, shaking her head and coming towards him. "I'll go if I'm interrupting on anything private."

Jack shrugged. "It's okay. Nothing private. Just trying to think about stuff is all."

Wow, he was more attractive than Kim thought. He was like a Greek god nearly, but that would be going over the top, right? Besides, she wouldn't dare lay eyes on the devil's property. Julie had informed Kim and Grace during lunch that we were not to go anywhere near Donna's boyfriend because he was certainly off limits and plus, everyone thought that once they were out of here, they'd jet off to Europe and get married. Kim nearly rolled her eyes at the thought of thinking about her drama queen of a friend.

Kim sat on the table in front of him and smiled weakly. She didn't know why but she felt the need to. "Congratulations, by the way," Jack said, changing the subject, looking up at Kim and seeming more awake than he did a while ago. "I would have chosen you too. You performed quite the piece during class today."

"I couldn't have done it without you, really," Kim said, swinging her legs a little bit, looking down at her knees. "You're really good. Jack, right?" The brunet in front of her nodded. "At both the spinning and the guitar. You're like a musical prodigy."

Jack chuckled a little bit, and Kim felt these butterflies in her stomach start to develop. What was this? She didn't know this guy. "You impressed Rudy. It's pretty rare for people to impress him, I'll tell you. I'm not even a part of the dancing program but he still has these funny opinions of me. The teachers here are pretty weird." Kim laughed. When she stopped, she and Jack stared at each other for a while, examining each other's features.

Jack spoke again. "So why are you up so late?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"I said I needed to think."

"I just needed to escape."

Jack didn't expect Kim's answer, but he didn't want to bother her by asking her silly questions. He smiled and knew exactly what would cheer the blondie up. Jack reached into his back pocket and took out the little box he had been feeling it there for the last hour and a half. Every time he came back to school from home he had restocked by going to the nearest little shop and buying a whole bag full.

He took out one swirly strip of red sweet and passed it over to Kim. "Twizzler?"

Kim looked a little confused, but laughed because she liked the gesture. "In the middle of the night?"

Jack tried looking for reasons in his head to why this was so wrong. He settled with the words, "Why not?"

Seemingly having to debate about this, Kim took the sweet from Jack's hand quickly before she changed her mind. She took the red candy into her mouth and she bit down onto it, pulling the Twizzler strip so that she could bite it properly. Once she'd broken off the piece, she started to chew, Jack watching her strangely. She hated it when people watched her eat, but he did it so nicely.

When Kim swallow, she saw Jack had got out his own strip and held it out to her. "Twizzler cheers?" He offered, but he sounded a little unsure of himself and what he was doing.

Kim laughed at his awkwardness and tapped her little bitten strip against his uneaten one. She smiled brightly, and he naturally smiled as well because his plan to cheer her up had clearly worked. All girls loved food, showcase soloists or not.

* * *

**A/N:**

And there we are! The second chapter done! I'll make sure the third chapter doesn't take as long, and lucky for all of you, my holiday trip has been delayed so now I get to have Wi-Fi for a few more extra days and all. I don't know if we're going to have Internet at all where we're going, but even if we don't, I'll write anyway.

As you can see, the Kick in this story might take a little more longer to develop in this story than all of my others but I do want to keep all of you reading so all the Kick hungry fans, just hang in there.

Please review and tell me what you thought of the chapter, though. I really want to know if I did a good job. Alerts and other things are also welcome. c: Sorry if there were any typos. Ain't nobody got time for that. It's twelve at night right now down here so I should probably get to sleep.

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


	3. Caught In Between

**A/N:**

Okay, okay, I know that I'm quite delayed on this chapter, but funny plans were made and the place that I went on holiday didn't have any signal for anything really, so I just spent my time writing, and luckily I'm able to hand in this chapter right away. While I was gone, though, I received reviews and follows and favorites and I just want to thank you guys for all of that! You are all truly amazing, and the only reason I keep on doing what I do is because of you c:

Before I get started with the chapter, I would just like to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody. You all made an impact on my 2012 and I just wanted to tell you guys that. It was a good year because of all of you and I'm really looking forward to 2013 with you guys! I pray that it is awesome.

I particularly enjoyed writing this chapter because the idea's been in my head just forever and I thought it would be really fun to write it and it was! If you read on, you'll see why I'm saying so, lol. And just for the record, the improvisation part is realistic (I've improvised with someone else. Of course, not in this particular dance genre) because two people can dance together and improvise. What doesn't add up in movies however is when groups of people just start dancing and magically know whose doing what and what comes next. Mm.

Enjoy!

Tiny warning: Mild language, but not anything major. Just a little bit more than usual.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kickin' It, nor do I own the other songs which were mentioned in this chapter, okay?

* * *

**::**

**3**

**Caught In Between**

**::**

* * *

When clapping hands sounded into the room, all the ready to dance teenagers stopped stretching and froze when the petite ballroom teacher entered the room, wearing something revealing – as always. It didn't seem to turn on the guys as much as it did last week, due to the ballroom teacher lecturing them about the way they symbolized a woman's body parts. Kim liked Mrs. Martinez, though, because she was different to all the other dance teachers who wanted perfection. She found beauty in all the things that weren't really right.

Everyone was standing in a straight line quickly enough, Kim and Julie making sure that they were next to each other, since they were the only other people they knew well in the class. Ballroom dancing on a Friday morning wasn't really what they wanted at the moment, but it wasn't as if they had a choice.

Mrs. Martinez smiled at her students. "This year, we shall be doing something different for the showcase. What Bobby didn't mention to you was that there would be a sprinkle of Latino in the showcase," She said in her heavy Columbian accent. "I'll enjoy teaching this, as it does come from the roots, but before we can get started, you need to know that when doing the tango, boys and girls, you are portraying something very sexual."

Kim could feel everyone begin to go still and the atmosphere in the room kind of shift into something uncomfortable. Even Jack the DJ, who was way in the corner getting everything set up for the class stopped on his tracks for a second, because it wasn't something he really expected to come out of his best friend's mother's mouth. He caught Kim's glance from across the room and winked, making the blonde a little uncomfortable and caused her to look down at her fiddling hands.

Jack now took note of Kim's existence after their little unexpected rendezvous in the classroom on the night of Kim's first day at the school. They hadn't really had a conversation since that night, but they did exchange secret glances and pass each other awkwardly. Kim hadn't told Julie or Grace about what had happened, which why the wink that was sent to her new friend made her flinch and look at Kim questionably, but she was looking down.

"The tango is a really touchy dance style, therefore when dancing the tango, you make a-love with your partner. Which brings me to the fact that in most cases, when dancing with some else, you deliver something like a story, which makes the audience feel what the character you are portraying. In this case, when dancing the tango, you arouse your audience."

"Sweet Jesus have mercy," Kim heard from her left, fighting back a giggle.

Mrs. Martinez shot daggers at the boy who had spoken – which appeared to be her very own son. Her eyes hovered between he and Kim, who were gulping continuously, fighting back the nervous laughter that was tickling their throats. "You two seem to have a lot of knowledge on this style of dance, am I right?"

Kim didn't say a thing and just flipped her loose bangs out of her eyes. "Yes, we do," The Latino told his mother, smirking. Kim gave him a look that made him more grateful for what he decided to say. This child was really cheeky, and Kim regretted that she listened to him.

Mrs. Martinez smiled. "Kim, Jerry, why don't you show the class how much knowledge you really do have of this dance?"

Everyone stopped on their tracks and looked at Kim and Jerry, waiting for their answer. There were butterflies in Kim's stomach that were flying into overdrive that the girl thought that she could just vomit under the pressure. Jerry looked as confident as hell though; as if this was exactly what he had wanted. He stepped out of the line, slowly making his way over to where Kim was. After a few seconds, he came to a halt and offered out his hand.

"May I have this dance?" Jerry said.

Kim was unsure of what to do. She'd never danced the tango before and didn't know at all what to do. She didn't think she had the sex appeal to do the dancing anyway. The only thing she could turn on was a microwave. She had to take risks though. It was her thing nowadays. The truth is, taking risks was the only way to get noticed in this school.

Kim took his hand and then smiled; she had regaining the confidence she had when she walked into the studio. They walked together into the middle of the studio, where Mrs. Martinez was eyeing them. "When you are dancing in some situations, you have to feel what your partner wants you to do to calculate the next move. You have to become really familiar with each other, like you are one person, only both having the blame of crossing boundaries."

Kim took in Mrs. Martinez's advice and sighed, letting out her nervousness. She looked down at her and Jerry's connected hands then looked up at him, and he was already looking down at her. He wasn't really bad looking. He had such piercing brown eyes it nearly made Kim slip right off her feet. "I don't know how to tango," she whispered up to him.

"Just imitate what you see in the movies," Jerry whispered back, looking at the eyes that were glued on him. Kim took in the information, trying to skim through all her knowledge she had on this style of dance. "Just be sexy. That shouldn't be too hard for you." Kim giggled when he said that, and Julie shot her a look from the audience. Jerry looked up to his best friend and smirked. The guys exchanged this odd telepathic request that nobody else could sense. The look on Jerry's face said it all for Kim, however.

"_Make it seductive."_

Kim and Jerry molded into their beginning stance, as if it were ballroom dancing. The world around Kim faded completely, and it was just she and Jerry. Because it was the tango, she had to seduce him. What he had said had motivated her to into taking the form of somebody sexy, someone all the guys would want. Dancing was kind of like acting, after all. You had to develop a story with a beginning, middle and an end.

The music that started blaring through Jack's speakers wasn't booming or classical like she had heard him use. It was more of an acoustic sound. It was kind of sexy, due to the very odd Britney Spears that she'd heard many times before – only it wasn't as poppy as she had remembered it. She just looked at Jerry during the introduction, trying to catch the telepathic movement he was trying to get into her head.

"_One, two, three, not only you and me,_

_Got one eight degrees and I'm caught in between. _

_Counting one, two, three, Peter, Paul and Mary,_

_Getting down with three P, everybody loves counting."_

Before she knew it, their legs were trotting together, following each other's movement. The space between their bodies snapped closed, and to Kim's surprise and as well as everyone else's, her leg snapped out and wrapped around Jerry's waist; a few hoots came from the kids that were watching over. Jerry followed Kim's lead, tracking back his feet slowly, bringing his head closer to Kim's as her free leg trailed across the ground. Kim threw her head back, wrapping her other legs around Jerry's leg as if she was trying to reach a level of ecstasy. Hooting followed, and Kim was nearly brought out of her trance due to the volume. It nearly made her blush too.

"_Baby, pick a night to come out and play,_

_If it's all right, what do you say?_

_Merrier the more. Triple fun that way._

_Twister on the floor. What do you say?"_

Kim's legs draped off of Jerry's hips, touching the floor once again. They continued their trotting, their eyes focusing on one another as if trying to figure out the next move with their minds. They succeeded, having Kim wrap her leg around Jerry once more, but only for a second before she started to walk slowly away from the Latino. Because their hands were still connected, Jerry pulled her back, her body twisting back into his grasp.

"_Are you in?_

_Living in sin is the new thing._

_Are you in?_

_I am counting …"_

Kim turned her body around in a peculiar graceful way, her back against Jerry's chest. Unexpectedly, the Latino began to grind his hips upon the back of Kim, releasing a new series of hoots. The new move Jerry made was place his hands upon Kim's torso, starting to roam, almost causing Kim to start laughing because of how ticklish it was.

"_One, two, three, not only you and me,_

_Got one eighty degrees and I'm caught in between."_

Catching Jerry's drift almost immediately, her legs jumped open. Jerry's hands smacked down onto her thighs, the hooting never calming down afterwards. The blonde contemporary dancer placed her hands on Jerry's, bringing his hands up and gracefully twisting their bodies back to their beginning stance, only bringing them right back to the trotting.

"_Counting one, two, three, Peter, Paul and Mary,_

_Getting down with three P, everybody loves counting."_

When the music abruptly stop, as if they were both expecting it to, Jerry forced Kim's body towards him, closing the space in between their bodies, Kim's leg draping over Jerry once again and their foreheads pressed together. Jerry and Kim couldn't help but smile at each other in triumph as their chests were heaving against each other. A few seconds after the music stopped, the class burst into applause a slight hint of laughter at the duo as they untangled from one another's grasp, laughing together. Jerry brought their connected hands to his lips and kissed Kim's knuckles, making her shake her head.

"That was lovely," Mrs. Martinez said with a big smile on her face. She clapped her hands excitedly, like she had just received an awesome Christmas gift. "That was gorgeous! See, that is what I want from you people! And to think they thought of-a all of this from the top of their heads! Brilliant!"

Kim was blushing and Jerry let go of her hand, winking before taking back his stance in the line, her doing the same. She could feel everyone's eyes still on her, and she looked up, seeing Jack smiling broadly at Kim already, giving her thumbs up before getting back to setting up the next track for the class. Julie was astounded by all of this, putting her hands on her hips and looking at Kim.

"Okay, where did that come from?" Julie asked, her mouth smiling but still hanging open in surprise.

"I don't know," Kim said, bowing her head down, slightly ashamed.

Julie rolled her eyes. "I don't know," she said in a high voice mockingly, making Kim giggling. "Uh-huh. Yeah. Whatever, you little sex monkey."

* * *

"**Which style of dance tickles your fancy?"**

"_Ballet, of course."_

"_I like it when I feel music just take over my body and just do what it does, you know? Freestyle, definitely."_

"_Ever since I was little, it was ballet. But I also like tap."_

"_I'm a ballroom dancer."_

"_Hip-hop."_

"_Ballet."_

"_Jazz and tap."_

"_Contemporary."_

"_Contemporary's a new style I've learnt to master. I love it!"_

"_Ballet and contemporary."_

"_Ballroom's cool."_

"_Hip-hop."_

* * *

Jerry looked up from his camera when he felt someone pat him on the back. He really didn't like interruptions when he was trying to go through his film, especially when it was being done on his way to the next class. It wasn't anyone that bothered him, thankfully. It was just his best friend, Jack, following up behind him. He didn't have his equipment with him, but he did have his school bag, which was a sign that he had private tutoring now.

Because Jack wasn't really a student at the school of dance, Bobby had offered him the proposal that in order to board with the rest of the students, he could get a private tutor. Unlike the rest who stopped their schooling as soon as they reached high school level, he had to continue, but because he had so much extra time and could complete his studies at his own pace, he was a junior, technically.

It wasn't like he was going to need any of the useless information he indulged in everyday. He wanted to go into music when he was done in this place. He thought getting his popularity started at a dance school was quite the start. Plus, his best friend schooled there, and he'd made a whole lot of other friends too.

Jack was beaming. "Did you enjoy that?"

Jerry smirked while he shut down his camera and stuffing it into his duffel bag which was hanging off of his shoulder. "You see how awesome the single's life is? You get to do things like that. That, my friend, was probably one of the hottest things I've ever done in my life and bonus, it was for dance purposes. But because I am a free man, I get no girl on my back for touching Kim like that."

"Living the dream," Jack nodded, laughing at his friend's enthusiasm for the subject.

Jerry smiled, shaking his head. "Dude, you've got to." His face became a little more serious now. "I know you're afraid of doing it and getting stuck to is again, but dancing sets you free, man. It gives you opportunities."

Jack just shrugged. "I think I'll just pass." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist and patted his friend on his shoulder again. "I've got to go."

As Jack was speeding away, Jerry shouted, "This is not over!" When he was gone, the Latino sighed. He just wanted what was best for Jack.

And he knew him dancing again would set him free.

* * *

Kim was lost in the music, in the state she normally would enter when her body started moving almost against her will. She was concentrating hard on her image in the mirror, seeing for any imperfections in the dance she was choreographing. She didn't have all the moves yet, and was trying to feel it and remember afterwards as she moved. She would she was succeeding, but there were always little things like bend knees or un-pointed toes that would frustrate her.

On a Saturday night, everyone else was out in town, having fun with their dorm friends. Kim was pretty sure she was the only one trying to figure out this showcase dance of hers. She did know she wasn't going to bed completely hungry, because she asked Grace and Julie to pick up some McDonalds in town while they were at it. Kim didn't like last minute things, and she wanted to be one of the first to get this right quickly, so closer to the time, she wouldn't have to worry.

Her iPod were placed in speakers, the classical instrumental music by _Vitamin String Quartet_ playing gracefully in the air, Kim always stopping and starting the dance she had put together. Other things were speeding up in her mind too, like if this was going to be the actual music she'd use for the showcase, or if Jack would cook something else up for her. Then she started thinking about Donna, who wasn't sweating about this showcase thing at all. Even if it was only in, like, five months away, you could never be too prepared. Then it went to Rudy, her contemporary dance teacher, who was telling her that she had a gift and she was one of the best of the best.

Kim had to nail this.

She was brought out by her deep concentration and jumped, letting out a tiny little squeal when she heard the sound of someone clapping his or her hands. When she saw who it was, her heart started beating fast and she gulped, shaking her head. Even thought the fright jitters had gone her heart was still racing. That was because it was Jack who had given her the applause.

Kim wondered whom this guy was and why he seemed to pop up all over the place. It wasn't a bad thing, of course. "You're great," he said with a smile, walking towards her slowly with his hands now in his pockets. Kim rolled her eyes and looked back at herself in the mirror. "I'm not trying anything on you, Kim. You're really good at what you do. I think you're one of the really few people who might make it successfully out this place."

The blonde sighed when she saw Jack's reflection behind her in the mirror. "I heard what happened with you and Donna. I think everybody heard but I get to see the aftermath up close. It's a little scary."

"Donna's scary," Jack said, starting to pace around the room as Kim turned the music off and faced him.

Kim gave him a soft look. "She feels really bad."

Jack stopped pacing. "Which is exactly why she's all over that Brody kid right now," Jack chuckled dryly and Kim flinched a little. "Did she put you up to this?"

"I'm just trying to be friendly towards her. I think it's a little sad how everyone hates her. I don't know why they do, but I don't have a reason to yet," Kim said truthfully, and she was surprised she let it come out of her mouth. She didn't regret it. Maybe it would make Jack change his mind later on, and he'd take into consideration what she had said.

She didn't hate Donna. Hate was such a strong word. Everyone else had their reasons to have certain opinions of her but Kim hadn't found one yet. Donna hasn't been mean in any kind of way at all. Sometimes, the girl winks at her when Julie says something quite ridiculous, like they were sharing a secret joke. She didn't know what it meant. Grace said it was maybe she saw some kind of potential in Kim. Julie said that Kim mustn't just assume nothing bad will happen because the worst is coming.

Kim is still waiting.

She was expecting Jack to change the subject, but he didn't. Slowly, he narrowed his eyes at Kim and then he smiled because he thought what she said was amazing. Kim felt a little insecure and almost started hugging her chest. He was looking at her too intensely. "What?" She asked, her voice shaking, though it had no need to.

"I guess I've never heard that come out of any other girl's mouth," Jack said, still beaming. Kim's stomach turned inside out. He had such a lovely smile. She shook the thought out of her head because it was a horrible thing to think. "You're different."

Kim shrugged. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all. It's good to be different. It gives you originality."

Kim scoffed. "That word is dead."

And there you go. They had emerged into a full on conversation as they did a few nights ago and just talked, and somewhere along the way in the process, they sat down with their backs against the mirror, not facing each other. They were able to have a conversation together that they maybe couldn't have with anybody else. It was just randomly shifted subjects, like after originality, they started talking about how useless upgrading your phone was, especially if it was from Apple. From there, they started talking about horrible experiences with the supernatural.

Jack was laughing when Kim asked, "Why are you here anyways, Jack?"

"I was just wondering around the school –" but Kim cut him off because that wasn't the answer she wanted.

"No, I mean here, at Bobby Wasabi, if you're not a dancer." Kim saw he was a little hesitant to answer the question, almost like he was afraid. Some of the color drained in his face and for a few moments he was somewhere else. The blonde didn't want to discomfort him, because that would ruin the whole friendship they had going on. "You don't have to answer if it bothers you."

Jack just shook his head. "I've only told a few people here. The rest think I was hired or something, I don't know. I guess your question … it kind of just startled me."

"I didn't mean to startle you." Jack started laughing. Kim was nervous. "Why are you laughing?"

Jack's laughter calmed down. "Don't be apologetic. It was a relevant question." Kim smiled when Jack sighed, because he was going to tell her something he didn't tell a lot of people. Was it weird that she felt a little honored? "I'm kind of family."

Kim didn't expect that. She raised an eyebrow. "Kind of?"

The brunet beside her nodded. He waited a few beats before he said, "We're not really family, but our families are really close. My granddad used to be his choreographer. Taught him everything he knows about dancing."

"So dancing's in your blood?"

"I guess."

"But you like creating the music better, rather than moving with it?"

"I guess."

"But you can still dance?"

"I don't know."

"Then dance with me."

Jack hesitated a little until her smiled and nodded. "Maybe one day, I will."

The blonde smiled as well. "Promise?"

The smile on his face grew. "I promise. And I always keep my promises."

Kim looked at the clock, which was on the wall and sighed. Almost an hour had passed and she thought maybe it would be wise to cut the conversation short here before things got awkward. Correction: more awkward. "Well, I think I should be getting back. The girls promised to bring me back food and maybe they're back."

Jack smiled at the fact that she liked food. Donna had always done the crazy diets to keep up her figure. Kim was different, like he said. She just ate anything that was offered out to her. Kim jumped up and slipped on her Toms, wriggling her toes so the shoe could fit back onto her feet properly. Jack got up as well and dusted himself off, even though there was hardly a need.

Kim bent down to get her iPod and their speakers and straightened up, but her breathing hitched when she saw how close Jack was to her suddenly. She walked back into the mirror, but still she wasn't a far distance from him. If she took a proper step forward, their lips would just be inches away. Jack was laughing like this was funny, and Kim decided this was annoying, the fact that he found everything so damn funny. She turned around from him, glancing up at their reflection in the mirror, and started wrapping the chord around the speakers; her insides becoming even more messed up as she saw Jack approached her from behind. He was still smiling, but then his eyes were looking at her weird. He looked really … seductive? She could feel his body nearly touching hers from behind but he just looked at her.

"I was trying to give you a hug but you turned around and made this way more awkward than it needed to be," Jack said in a different tone, one Kim has never heard him use before. His voice sounded so soft but at the same time rough. Either way, the dude was able to cause her to go weak kneed.

She didn't come here for any crushes, she told herself. She came here for dancing and that is it. No exceptions.

The dancer's looked down at her feet and never brought her eyes up. "So, are we friends now or…?"

"I think it's official," Jack chuckled. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Don't act like you don't see it."

"See what?"

"The way girls swoon over your dark, full and luscious hair, your biceps that sometimes don't even fit through the sleeves of your shirt, those full lips of yours and the way your fingers have the ability to create such magic." Kim didn't really expect for Jack to throw his head back laughing. "So you knew?"

"Donna made sure I was always aware, I guess." Kim smirked as Jack started backing away, but he was still looking at her, his smile still wide on his face, never falling or tilting from its position. "I guess I'll see you later … friend."

Kim was still shaking her head and giggling to herself long after he had walked out the doors of the studio.

* * *

"You never told me that you and Jerry Martinez had something going on," Grace huffed the following day, a Sunday, during dinner, sharing a table with Kim, Julie, Milton and Eddie. She remembered hearing three eighth graders talking about a new girl and Jerry getting it on during a dance class and apparently, there was an awful lot of touching – the touching that required an age restriction.

The whole cafeteria was a spectrum of blue and black because of all the blazers and the uniforms, the chatter never dying down in the hall. Grace looked down at her plate after having said that, seeing the spaghetti that was placed on it and pushed her plate back. It smelt really good, but she couldn't.

Milton, Julie's ginger boyfriend raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "You're only hearing this now? News spreads like wildfire in this place, I tell you. It's been sizzling pretty hot in the guys' dorms. It's actually quite disturbing what everyone's saying, Kim." Grace didn't feel any comfort in how Milton, of all people, knew this before she did. She was new and all, because come on … _Milton?_

Kim's mouth frowned into a disgusted sort of expression and she shook her head. She didn't really enjoy talking about this and she really didn't want to know what people were saying. "We don't have anything going on," Kim shrugged, stabbing a fork into her pasta. "We just had to dance in ballroom together and it was intense."

"He was roaming near your crotch, Kim," Julie muttered under her breath, loud enough for everybody to hear.

"It was dancing!" Kim protested. "In the business, you always get dance partners and sometimes, you'll have to touch each other in order to connect with your audience."

Julie shook her head, putting down her fork. "I'm not referring at all to what happened during the dancing. It was behind the scenes I was able to see as well."

For some reason, Eddie had to support the statement because he had been there and seen everything. He finished chewing before he said, "Jerry was checking you out. And you were shooting guppy eyes his way. Either way, you guys weren't really hesitant in showing that the dance had maybe opened new doors."

Julie added, "And these doors are guaranteed to slam in your face, Kim."

Milton nodded. "Amen."

"You guys," Kim said blankly. "I do not have a crush on Jerry, okay?'

Grace blinked. "For a minute, I actually thought she and Jack had something going on."

Kim put her hands through her hair after hearing all of her friends agree to that fact and say that we'd been exchanging secret looks and Julie thought it was be really necessary to add the fact that he winked at her after her dance with Jerry in ballroom yesterday. The girl was hoping that the dance academy would be somewhat different to high school, but really, there was no difference except for the fact that they danced instead of all the academics.

Julie and Milton together explained to Kim that getting involved with either of them would be a really bad idea. Jerry, for one, was the school's current ladies' man and was the kind who was willing to score a home run with anybody willing to play the game. He may seem "different" at first, but then as the relationship goes along, you wouldn't be able to take it because Jerry believes in the art of back up plans, just in case you and him don't work out. He'll flirt with girls in front of you and still not care if your feelings were hurt. Eddie advised only going down that yellow brick road if you were looking for something playful.

The champagne blonde ballerina with glasses explained that Jack was just plain complicated. He was too mysterious and he was too quiet and too wanted amongst the ladies, so you'd have your fair share of difficulties there. What really was intimidating about having a relationship with his was of course, his ex-girlfriend – who he was with for an incredibly long time, who also happens to he Satan himself and who also happens to love Jack more than humanly possible. Milton injected by saying that she did not love him. She was just obsessed. They gave Kim the go ahead for either of them, but told her to be careful. Meanwhile, Kim was rolling her eyes and shaking her head because she didn't need to take any of this into consideration.

She didn't like either of them.

Or did she?

No, no, no. This was not happening. She didn't come here for rumors or for boys or for any of this. She was going to focus on her showcase piece and she was going to kick butt.

"I'd go for Jerry," Grace said, raising her hand and laughing. "Just because he's Spanish. The language is so lovely and I really like their culture and how just a few words in Spanish, even if they have nothing to do with love, it still sounds attractive. Jack is mysteriously sexy and everything, but foreign people kind of turn me on."

"That information was irrelevant," Milton put his hand up to silence Grace before she went on. Kim laughed because she found Milton overall humorous, even when he didn't mean to be. Just how he acted and how he seemed to say things made her feel better.

Maybe Kim couldn't escape her. It was still high school, no matter how the education system worked. When you're here, your social life still matters.

Dinner was dismissed after everyone put away their dirty plates and cutlery and it took about ten minutes for everyone to file out of the cafeteria. Conversations were still continued outside in the hallways. Julie was going on and on about how ballet actually caused arthritis and Grace was telling her how ridiculous she was sounding. Kim had zoned out though, her legs walking zombie like through the crowd of people, and how her mind had randomly shifted to her horrible home life.

She had been swatted out of her thoughts quite literally when she felt a hand slap her butt. She gasped in shock before she jumped around and saw Jack and Jerry standing behind her. Her heart rate didn't calm down because it was them, of all people, right now, when Grace and Julie had just got off the subject of her supposed crush on them both.

Grace smirked and nudged her in the side. "Julie, but alas, tis the good fellows that Kim admires oh so dearly! Jack, the lad with his fingers tips of pure silk and Jerry, the gentleman with a way with words. Both oh so different but both upon the path to complete the quest of winning our beauty's heart!" Kim cringed and bowed her head down in somewhat defeat.

Julie quickly caught along with the joke and was glad that they were getting twisted expressions, but it was okay because the guys were chuckling, like it was funny. Jack thought everything was funny, after all. "Amused, are you? Oh, Grace, but your advanced use of vocabulary really does bring amusement. Please do share why you choose to invite us within your astounding presence."

Kim shook her head and face palmed, using her other hand to point back at her friends, who were tittering beside her. The guys in front of her didn't look really freaked out by Julie and Grace, but she felt the need to apologize for their odd behavior. "I am so sorry about that. I have really weird friends. Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with them in the first place, but turns out the only quality we all possess is the quality of weirdness. We are all misfits who have come together in a dance asylum."

"Indeed," Jack winked, and Kim went a little red, causing her friends to giggle even more.

Suddenly, Jerry looked confused. "I only heard half of what they were saying. I feel like I've sat through an English lesson, goddamn." He shook his head and everyone shook their heads as well. This must have been very typical of him, Kim declared. If she was going to survive in this place – well, socially – she was going to have to start taking notes. Kim still didn't know who had brought her out of trance by slapping her bum. She suspected it was Jerry, but then again it could have been Jack. Or not. Nope. It was definitely Jerry.

Grace saw the camcorder that was in Jerry's hands and sighed. She knew this boy better than she thought she actually could, since they've only come across one another only a handful of times, not enough to make them friends. "I should have known you would have approached us armed."

Jerry looked down at what Grace was referring to and laughed nervously, looking back up at Grace all funny. Grace noticed this, Julie noticed this and Kim did too. The blonde and her four eyed friend exchanged knowing glances and nearly burst into laughter. "I've not come to ambush you," Jerry said, holding his hands (one holding the camcorder, of course) in surrender, his confidence or whatever he had lost within the seconds he had spent replying to Grace suddenly coming back. "We've just come to personally invite all you hot _mamacitas_ to our dorm party this coming Saturday."

"You're allowed to have those?" Kim asked, crossing her arms because not for one minute was she going to give up her crystal clear record for a party.

Jack nodded. "I guess you could call it the royal treatment, am I right, Kim?" Kim nearly kicked herself because she hadn't told her friends anything about her and Jack's newly found friendship. By the looks of it, there'll be a lot of questions later from her girlfriends. "I'm just kidding. There's no rule against it, so we throw parties anyways."

"But there is a rule against girls going into the boys' dorms," Julie stated.

Jerry shrugged. "It's never been a problem. Trust us, ladies. We can get away with anything." The girls all paused. "Ya'll are coming, right?"

Kim nodded, looking back at her friends. "Yeah. We're coming."

Jack smiled. "Awesome."

* * *

Something really unexpected popped up before bed that night. As usual, the girls were changing into their PJ's and setting up their beds in dead silence, hearing the chatting of the girls in the dorms all around them. Kim didn't think it was too depressing because she had Julie, and sitting in silence was Julie was just fine.

Kim was busy sitting on her bed, applying her multiple skin lotions onto her skin which she did every second night before bed. At the mirror, Donna was putting her hair into a bun, and Julie was underneath her bed looking for her pills, which apparently helped her with sleep or concentration or whatever it was.

It was during this time that for the first time in a long time, Donna spoke to them when she didn't really need to. "So, Kim, what's the deal with you and Jerry?"

Kim was really annoyed at how often she was receiving this question. "Nothing."

Donna scoffed. "That's not what people are saying."

"I've kind of realized that, thanks," Kim said, not meaning to become just a little cranky. She was tired, and people had been asking her questions all day. She just wanted to relax. "Sorry. I'm just really sick and tired of people assuming that Jerry and I are together because we danced together. You dance with people all the time, don't you?"

Donna laughed. "You don't quite understand, do you, new girl? This is Jerry we're talking about. He just has his way around with the female species. Getting involved with him is a bad idea. Not only does it feed onto his rep, but it manipulates yours as well."

"That's what I was telling her," Julie said from under the bed. Kim rolled her eyes and groaned out loud, Julie's head coming up from under the bed, succeeding in finding her medication. "I've got it."

"If you want people to stop talking about it, you've got to give them something else to talk about," Donna said, beginning to apply this fancy lotion she had probably received from a private dermatologist or something. The Tobins certainly knew how to spend money. "Truth is, baby girl, it's not going to go away on its own. Waiting it out is really not the way to go. You never know how long it can last. If you want to get rid of this rumor asap, you've got to keep your ears open. People speak all the time. That way, instead of sending around completely false assumptions, you can spread the truth. Either way, it's fine because I seriously don't care."

Kim didn't know what to say. The idea was a pretty good one, yes, but it was a little … mean? Kim didn't want to spread rumors about anybody else because that was horrible. She didn't want people to hate her like they hate Donna. Kim just said, "Thanks, I guess," before climbing under her bed covers with her cellphone and disappearing from the world.

* * *

When Jack comes back into his dorm, he hears faint Latin music and shakes his head in dismay, his guitar weighing him down on his back. It was just five minutes before lights out and Jerry was playing music. Jack recognizes it because he had mixed it for the school once. He guessed that he shouldn't be judging, because he'd only come back from playing in an empty classroom just now.

The Latin music playing while Jerry was shaving in the bathroom meant one of five things. Either:

He had his eyes on a girl.

He had just broken things off with a girl that he didn't like being with.

He wants to set Jack up with some (an option that has been available over the years, believe it or not. Apparently, when in a relationship with another person, it was possible to fall for another, Jerry had said to Jack once. Jerry didn't like Donna, to say the least.)

He had the assumption that Jack has eyes for a certain girl.

Donna called and she was not very happy because she had ran in trying to see Jack and interrupted Jerry trying to entertain someone. An option like that was needed.

The last option was obviously cancelled out, so it was one in four things. Either way, the options had something to do with girls.

Jack closed the door behind him and sighed, seeing Jerry walk out the bathroom with just tracksuit pants on and his hair a little messy. He smirked before falling onto his single bed and laughing as if Jack had told him the funniest joke in the word. The brunet who put down his guitar case, his mind a little baffled to why the music was playing, saw that the song that Jerry was playing for him was on repeat – maybe not even repeat. It was stuck on verse.

"Ah, your DJ mind has discovered that I am playing this song on repeat," Jerry said, putting his hands behind his head. "And do you know why that is, Jacko?"

Jack shook his head no. Oh no, here comes a full on lecture. He always lectures Jack after he had proved the point of why he chose a specific song or why Spanish music was playing at all. The lectures aren't useless, though. Sometimes Jerry had good days and he'd make sense.

Only sometimes.

Jack sat down onto his bed across from Jerry's, knowing this might last a really long time. "Like this song, man, you are on repeat. You are always replaying the same song and the same lyrics and it bores people. You know what the name of this song is?"

"No," Jack said because he really didn't.

"_Rabiosa_," Jerry told his best friend simply.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to give me a translation?"

"Angry," Jerry said, and then his facial features shifted slightly, like he was confusing himself. "Well, in this song, it isn't that. You're hungry for love. You're horny."

Jack shook his head. "I don't like where this is going."

"Listen, Jackward," Jerry said, sitting up now to look at his buddy right in the two eyes. Jack was scared at how focused Jerry seemed because he was never so serious. Jerry being serious was like having something flying into your face while you're busy wandering in darkness. "My point here is, you're searching for something, in this case, love, but you can't find it because you're so busy complaining about not having it that your song gets stuck of repeat. Donna freaking put your song on repeat and now you're stuck like broken vanilla."

"Vinyl," Jack corrected the Latino.

Jerry got up and grabbed Jack by the shoulders and shook him. "I love you man and you know that. And as the closest thing you have to family here, I have to take care of you and help you make good choices. Dragging your feet around and grumbling ain't going to fix anything. You've got to get back out into the playing field because there are so many girls willing to play right now, it's actually pretty ridunkulous." Jack smiled at Jerry's word. "And I'm sure that in that valley of females, there's one who's going to finally stop that song on repeat and fucking switch the song."

Jack laughed and Jerry did too.

Jerry was right about two things, which was a new record. The guy was hardly ever right about anything.

The first thing that Jack was, indeed, _rabiosa_. He was starting to wonder if he ever had anything real with Donna at all, or if she was acting the whole time. He was craving for something real, for someone to just remind him that not everything in his life was a masquerade. He hated it when he felt that way.

The second thing was that he was going to find that female in the valley of them, who would finally stop his song from repeating.

Enough was enough.

He and Donna were finished.

* * *

**A/N:**

I think the time I had off really helped me with this chapter, because I couldn't have thought of how to write it in any other way. The chapter wasn't must of a struggle and I'm really happy with it! It was just a little filler and it is relevant, and I'm almost done with the next chapter that will be out pretty soon. This chapter may not seem like much, but is one of the most important chapters in this story.

Another thing: Julie is out of whack and I know. I don't know if you like her with an edge or if you prefer her like she is on the show! I don't know. And about the salsa song, it was Glee's version of Three by Britney Spears, because they did the song better than Britney herself. I don't think the chapter was much except for the first few parts but the funny ends with the rumors and the 'hungry for love' shit is all relevant later. I'm out of it today, please excuse me.

Please review and tell me what you think! I love hearing feedback for you guys! It always makes my day c: Alerts and all those other things are welcome as well. I'm sorry. I must seem like a review whore, sorry for my French.

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


	4. Rumor Has It

**A/N: **

Hello everyone! Here we are, a week later. I figured I'll update this story every week or so around Wednesday or Thursday because I just feel comfortable doing it. Sorry if the wait was a little long, but I've been writing a chapter for What Are The Odds and I kind of got caught up, and yeah. Thanks for all the feedback, guys! Your reviews absolutely make my day and I really love them! Keep them coming and everything! I also appreciate the alerts. c:

This chapter's interesting, and beware of a few mistakes, please. I wrote majority of this chapter half asleep and I'm so lazy to check right now because it's night in South Africa and I want to go to bed so I can write in the morning. School starts up again next week so updates may be a little slower.

I guess ya'll would like to see the chapter? Yeah? Awesome!

A little warning: there are a few swear words in this, I guess. Because of drunk Jerry.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Kickin' It_, or the only Adele song I like, _Rumor Has It_. Cool beans?

* * *

**::**

**4**

**Rumor Has It**

**::**

* * *

The music was taking over Grace's limbs as she danced. She could feel it carrying her in mid air, like she was flying. This is how she felt when she danced – like she could fly. It didn't feel like she was flying today. Around the room, she could spot all the perfect ballerinas and the guys. She didn't understand how she wasn't blending in with them today.

In the painfully pink, grey and black sight before her, she was seeing double of a person. Her heart was beating all funny. She really couldn't breathe. The pain from all over was becoming worse; she couldn't hold on and carry on anymore. As the aching in her ankle and in the bridge of her foot became worse, she collapsed.

Instead of flying, she fell.

When her body hit the ground, she looked at the wood underneath her flat palms, and the music had stopped. She blinked a few times before looking up at everyone surrounding her through her brown locks that had fallen from her tight bun. She gulped when their ballet coach, Joan, stepped before her.

She wasn't a really nice lady, to say the east. Her ballet coaches ever nice? The only person she seemed to favor was Donna, because she was a pro. She had a shot of making it. Grace always doubted herself about making it. She knew she couldn't because she was slightly different.

"What's the matter, Ms. Wexler?" Joan said, her voice sharp and loud it started Grace.

The brunette who was lying on the floor cleared her throat and said, "I was just feeling a little light headed, Joan. I'm sorry." There was a silence between them as Joan leaned down and peered into Grace's soul through her eyes. She didn't know what the coach was doing, but she felt extremely nervous. If looks could kill, she would be long gone.

"You feed yourself before you enter my classroom, Grace," Joan said in her forever mean tone. Grace nearly gasped but she resisted the urge. She just continued to silently gasp for air. "I don't want fainting in my class – or dying, for that matter. You're being disrespectful towards the peers among you. People here, they want to learn, Ms. Wexler."

Grace didn't know how she really knew about her not eating as much as she used to but it wasn't just that. "I am eating, ma'am," Grace defended herself. "But my feet aren't feeling strong today. I really apologize for the disruption." Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to say. It just slipped.

"What kind of excuse is that?" Joan spat.

"I'm different," Grace said in a tiny voice.

"Different how, dear?"

"I have extremely flat feet and it hurts sometimes, ma'am."

There was another silence and Joan was just looking at her. She smiled and she started laughing. She might as well have ripped Grace's heart right out of her chest. The girl was so terrified; she didn't know what to do. The students around her didn't say a thing, didn't laugh along. Donna smirked, however, had her arms folded and she was smiling. "They hurt, do they?" Joan said.

Grace nodded, mute.

"What do you want me to do, Grace? Give you a kissy? Pat you on the back? Get up!" She shrieked, and Grace struggled to her feet. It was only once she was on her feet that she realized how sore her ankle was.

She nearly tripped right off of her feet again trying to stand straight, but arms had caught her. Grace looked at whom the arms belonged to and they had belonged to Jerry. She didn't know where he had come from but then it struck her he had always been in this class. Either way, she was really glad he was there. Grace gave him a nod and he nodded back, but held her there because if he let go, she'd fall.

Joan smiled. "How kind of you, Mr. Martinez."

"No problem," Jerry said, but he knew she was speaking with great sarcasm.

Joan looked Grace up and down. "Are you expected special treatment in my studio, Ms. Wexler because it sure sounds like you are." Grace shook her head. She didn't know what scared her most: the fact that her voice was cold and low or that her breath smelt like hell. "Every heard of Margot Fonteyn?"

"Yes ma'am," Grace said, her head held high.

"One of the greatest classical ballerinas in all of history," Joan said, nodding, and her feet started to circle around Grace. "She danced as one of the leads ion Swan Lake, Sylvia, The Firebird, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker … I could go on but that would take says. She was superior and conquered whatever came in her way. She had flaw like you, Grace. She too had flat feet. But she shined. You remind me of a rotting rat."

Grace nearly choked on air.

"You're depressing, disrespectful, backchatty and you bring no stage presence. You are no Margot Fonteyn. You are pathetic and if it were up to me, I would not have you in my class." She whipped her head to the Latino who was giving Grace balance and smiled again, Grace's hand snaking up to her neck, hoping it would prevent her from vomiting. "Take her to the cafeteria and get the lunch ladies to get her an ice pack. I'm pretty sure the injury is not fatal."

Jerry nodded, looking down at Grace's feet and looking back at her. She snaked her arm around him and cooperated with him as he helped her limp right out of the studio, two-dozen pairs of eyes staring back at them. When they were outside the studio, the door was closed and the music had been put back on. The atmosphere was gone in there by now. People knew not to play with Joan's buttons now.

While they were walking out of the building several minutes later, after getting there in silence, the brunette stopped for a moment and sighed, gulping a few times to catch her breath. Jerry shook his head and chuckled. He wasn't amused by the fact that Grace was inhaling her last breaths. He was very impressed. "You're a tough cookie. Most girls would have cried. Joan's a bitch."

"Well, as you can see, I'm not most girls," Grace almost laughed at herself and shook her head. Her voice wasn't choked up at all. Like she kept on reminding herself, she was different. She wasn't like the others. "I'm not upset. I actually really want to slaughter her right now."

"Oh really?" Jerry laughed.

"Yup," Grace said, sighing and then limped on beside Jerry. "At least it got me away from her terrible face, right?"

* * *

Donna's eyes were on Jack while she was in the studio, stuffing her pointe shoes into her duffel bag after the ballet class. The bell have rung for lunch, but Jack still had to gather up all of his equipment and take it back to his dorm – like he always doe during lunch time, unless he has tutoring the period before.

Her heart aches when she stared and his eyes never came up to meet hers. She was sure that even if his eyes did meet hers, his lips wouldn't curve into that little cheeky smile that she loved. It upset her that after everything that happened, Jack still didn't make the effort to stay friends with Donna, because having him out of her life for good was really depressing. It was like losing a brother or a best friend. It was torturous. She didn't show it on the outside because it would ruin her reputation.

She got out her cellphone from her bag and saw that she had a text message from Claire, telling her that she had something to tell me and that it was something pretty saucy. She couldn't imagine what her best friend would want to tell her on a Monday, because the week hadn't even started yet. It was only lunch after all.

The auburn blonde's ponytail shot up with her head when she heard other footsteps in the room other than Jack's. Her nose twitched when she saw Kim standing beside the mixing set up which was almost packed away, squeezing something miniscule in her balled up fist. "Hey," she said.

Jack lifts his head up from the mixing machine, his headphones still over his ears. Donna knew there was no music playing, since she knew Jack couldn't control himself when he heard beats of any kind. He would tap his foot, bob his head or at least drum his fingers on something. She figured that he didn't want to be rude but he didn't want to talk to Donna. She told her self that she didn't want to either, but that would be a lie. She really missed him.

"Hey," he said, a little surprised. "How's it going?"

Donna looked down back at her phone, texting Claire that she would be in the cafeteria in a second as she eavesdropped on their little conversation.

"I'm good and what about you?" said Kim.

"Good, I guess," Jack said. Donna could hear him smiling. "What's up?"

Kim sighed before she spilled it. "I found a song for my showcase piece, and I was wondering if maybe, you know since I like dancing to such obscurity, if it was possible you could mix it. I don't know if that's allowed but I just –"

"I'll do it," Jack said, stopping Kim before she entered the unstoppable train of her babbling – Donna knew this because they were dorm mates. "It's never really been asked before because I'm under the assumption I'm pretty intimidating but uh, yeah. I guess I could do it. Showcase is billions of years away still, so it gives me time to perfect it."

Donna looked up right that the moment her dorm mate threw her arms around Jack's neck, jumping up and down just a little, saying, "Thank you!" repetitively. Something inside the girl snapped and she forced herself up from the bench near the door, unable to just sit here while they tried to ignore her existence.

She clawed through her ponytail to check for knots, discovering none and threw her bag over her shoulder, shoving the iPhone into her blazer pocket. She took one more look at the two she was running away from, and saw they had paused their hug and were looking at Jack's ex. They were surprised, as if they didn't know at all that she was in the room before.

Kim waved, plastering a big fat smile onto her face. It nearly made Donna vomit; she was disgusted. "Howdy there, Donna." Jack's mouth was set in a line, his face contorted and even at the distance Donna was at, she could see his jaw clench and unclench.

She shook her head and sighed. She looked at the door then back at the two. She saw how Jack's eyes were burning holes into her skin and they were never leaving her. The beating of her heart had sped up times three, sighing only to catch her breath. "I was just leaving." The lump that had developed startled her in her throat and she swallowed, trying to get rid of it, but it wouldn't go. She could feel her eyes starting to water and how she just had the urge to crawl up into a ball and die.

She didn't realize how much she missed Jack until seeing how much he was moving on and how he seemed to be just fine. "See you guys later," she said after clearing her throat. Before she could show any visible vulnerability, she started the door, covering her hand over her mouth to trap in her sobs.

She couldn't breathe. It was like Jack had taken a piece of her heart with her when she left. The stomp back to her dorm was a difficult one, since along the way, people were staring when they saw that the queen bee of the Bobby Wasabi Academy of Dance was in tears. A few freshmen tried stopping her and asking her what was wrong, and she had dodged all the guys who tried to hit on her. She couldn't hold the water in, but she could save the heavy crying until later. She decided she wasn't hungry anymore and she just wanted to be alone.

When she had got to the dorm, she crashed onto her bed, curling into a little ball and she let the tears fall without hesitance. Not once since the break up was she able to cry without the worry of people starting to watch. She didn't know why seeing him with another girl was such a big deal. Maybe it was the fact that it was Kim.

Who was she kidding? Kim was taking this place by a storm. Everyone seemed to love her. She was pretty, she was funny, and she could really dance. There was nothing she couldn't do.

People only loved Donna because of her popularity and her money. But Jack was the only person who saw this different light in her, not some hot dancer to place as a target for a hit and run. And now that he was gone, she felt like she had nobody left.

Donna didn't care if her sobs were loud, she just needed to cry. She may be the queen of ice but a heart of stone is still a heart no less, right?

She was still in love with Jack. After all, _he_ broke up with her, not the other way around.

Why was getting over him so hard?

After a few minutes of sobbing and wiping her tears with the sleeve of her blazer, there was a knock on the door. "Leave me alone!" Donna sobbed, and put her pillow over her head, hoping it would make her disappear into thin air.

"It's me," Donna heard and then she removed the pillow from her face. She exhaled before getting up from the bed and making her way to the door, a scowl on her face. She really didn't feel like seeing anyone right now. The fact that she was still living and breathing was annoying.

Opening it, she saw a fresh face that always cheered her up. The girl had flowing orange locks, her eyes brown and always smiling. She had the cute rosy cheeks and the heart shaped face. She had the kind of lips that always seemed humored when they were supposed to be as straight as a line. It was her best friend.

Claire smiled sadly at Donna, and saw she was holding a packet of marshmallows in her hands. Donna laughed because it stopped her from crying. Reluctantly, Donna let her in the door and closed it behind her. Claire sat on Donna's bed and opened her arms. "You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to."

Donna smiled, but Claire didn't mention how much her face at the moment resembled to a clown. The blonde sat down next to her friend with the luscious orange locks and wrapped her arms around her, crying onto her shoulder. This was all new to the ginger girl, because she hadn't seen her friend like this in a long time, not since her first few days at Bobby Wasabi. Donna's best friend rubbed her back, telling her that it was going to be okay.

"No, it isn't," Donna said, forcing herself to stop sobbing, just to tell her best friend why she was suddenly crying. She looked down at Claire's shoulder and cringed when she saw how her mascara and her eyeliner had landed up onto her uniform. "I am so sorry about the stain. I can wash the dress if you want to. I could always also buy you another one if you're too revolted."

Claire shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

"It's just really hard," Donna said, looking down at her hands, seeing how they were shaking. Claire opened up the packet of marshmallows and offered them out to the blonde. Donna took a few and stuffed them into her mouth. "I didn't know it was going to be so hard, you know?" She said with her mouth full and chewing in between words. Claire nodded like she understood. "I thought that like the rest, he'd be easy. I just had to make out with someone else. Brody, he's great and he has abs and he _dances_ and his eyes are … they're green."

"Brody is sexy," Claire said, taking a marshmallow for herself after Donna grabbed some more.

Donna nodded. "Brody _is_ sexy and making out with him was awesome. Brody's awesome. Why aren't I in love with him?" Claire shrugged because she didn't know what to say. "Jack was boring and he didn't dance. All he talked about half the time was music. His eyes were a horrible yuck poo kind of color. Making out with him was not so interesting. He was a horrible boyfriend. I don't understand why I'm still in love with him and not Brody."

Claire frowned and Donna started crying some more because she was lying. Claire couldn't resist rolling her eyes. She stood up in front of Donna and placed her hands on her hips. She looked down at the clown in front of her and shook her head in dismay because it wasn't he best friend sitting in front of her.

"Can I give you some touch love, doll?" Donna didn't say anything but Claire continued. "You are being pathetic, okay? Donna wouldn't be sitting here and crying her eyeballs out because of a dude. She would cry a little, yeah, but not like this. Donna would stand up and she would march right to Jack and take him before any one else can get a whiff of him. Donna is superior and no way is she going to let one little heart break take it all away from her."

Donna smiled and nodded. "I am."

Claire bent over and put her hands on the shoulders of her best friend. "Now, repeat after me: I am Donna Tobin …"

"I am Donna Tobin," Donna repeated.

"I have an amazing bod …"

"I have an amazing bod …"

"And I am a kickass dancer and I will not let Jack Brewer of all people take away my amazing bod by forcing me to eat marshmallows because of my crying and take away all my dignity and get me off the ball right before the showcase. I'm going to show him who is boss and I'm going to murder who ever tries to get in the way of my master plan."

Donna giggled and shook her head. "Whatever you just said. You're a freak but I love it. Thank you."

Claire smiled, satisfied that she had cheered up her best friend. She took her by the hand and forced her up onto her feet. Donna sighed and turned around to look into the mirror by her bed and gasped. "Oh sweet mother of God, Claire!"

The ginger was already headed to Donna's make up bag. "Don't worry, babe, I'm on it."

Donna sighed and sat back down onto her bed. "How am I going to get Jack to realize that he's still in love with me?"

"You don't have to get him to realize anything babe," Claire said, placing the make up bag next to the blonde and zipping it open, taking out a packet of wet wipes. "You just have to jog his memory." She pulled a wipe from the pack and folded it into a neat little square, taking Donna's chin. She started to dab away the mascara marks and the smudged lipstick.

Then she smirked. "I have an idea."

Donna widened her eyes. "Well?"

Claire giggled before saying, "We can jog his memory the Wasabi way."

Donna caught Claire smirked and asked, "Okay. I actually really like where this is going. Please do continue."

"I don't know if you know about the little dorm party that Jack and a few of his mates are planning to have, but apparently, it's going to be huge. And that is where we can make our mark …"

* * *

Kim took a look at her closet and frowned. She didn't have anything to wear to the party tonight, which had started a few minutes ago right after they were all let out of assembly. Everyone knew to never go to a party early so Kim really didn't mind about getting there fashionably late. She could already hear the music booming from inside her dorm, though, and it got her really pumped.

All the girls decided it would be a good idea to get ready together in Kim's dorm because it belonged to both Julie and her, and getting ready seemed a little bit easier. A few minutes ago, Grace had arrived with her suitcase of possible things to wear and told up she'd just be borrowing our make up. Julie had brought a few really nice outfits from home just in case something like this happened. Kim wasn't prepared. Her plan had been to come for dance and that was it.

She cringed and turned around to see what the girls were wearing. Grace was wearing a really short figure hugging skirt that was a dark purple and her top was loose and plain in the front, but at the back it was pretty lacy. She had heels on as well, high black pumps with red bottoms, and she'd curled her head just at the ends. She looked really pretty, like she was going out to a club. Kim was just slightly envious.

Julie really cleaned up good as well. Her jeans were a light blue, and she was wearing a pretty red top that was a little cropped at the bottom but longer at the sides. It exposed her belly button, which she really had a problem with but Grace said if she weren't to wear it, she was not leaving. Grace had also forced Julie into wearing beige peep toe heels, which she could only just walk in and her hair was straight. She looked too different.

Kim wondered what Milton would think.

The blonde sighed and slumped down onto her bed. "I've sweat in everything that I brought. I have absolutely nothing to wear. I don't know if I'm going to go."

Grace stomped her foot. "Don't give me that attitude, young lady. Where's your closet? I wanna see."

"No," Kim said, embarrassed by what she had brought. The only thing she had besides leotards, crop tops, leggings, stockings and a few jeans was a bathing suit and a bikini. She didn't even have heels. "I just don't have anything, okay? I would look like a total fool next to your guys. You two look really ready to party."

A door opened and all the girls' eyes shot towards the one that had opened. It was Donna in her PJ's, not looking like she was ready to go out. Now this really didn't make any sense. When Donna saw people were looking at her, she just shrugged. "What?"

"You not going to the party?" Grace asked.

Donna half smiled. "I don't know, Grace. Would you go to a party if it was hosted by your heartless ex boyfriend?" That silenced them. "Hm. I think not. But I couldn't help but overhear how you," Donna raised a finger at Kim, "have nothing to wear and I figured that maybe I should be generous, since I have nothing else to live for."

The girls remained quiet as Donna walked across the room, going to her closet. She was there for a fairly long time, fishing through clothes and looking down at the shoes that she had balanced. She looked back at Kim and asked, "What size shoe are you?"

"I'm an eight," Kim said, looking down, a little embarrassed by her shoe size.

Donna looked Kim up and down before saying, "You look about my size. You're not fat or anything. Can you squeeze into size seven heels?"

Kim shrugged. "I'll give it a try."

The girl in her PJ's took out a black dress and threw it onto her bed, along with a few bangles and she bent down to reach down to the shoes, throwing two red heels onto the bed. She closed her closet and sighed, eyeing the outfit that she had assembled on her bed. "Be careful with it. It's a prized possession. I got it in the Bahamas. I think I may just be a tad smaller than you, but I guess it's okay. I mean, the smaller the dress is, the tighter it is, which means you can really show off that cleavage nicely – I think I could lend you a push up bra as well – and when it's smaller, its shorter. Bonus, Jerry likes girls who wear less."

Grace smirked. "I like this girl," she said quietly to Julie, and she rolled her eyes because she still thought, no matter what happened, that Donna was not to be trusted. She thought there was something behind her trying to help Kim out, like a plot twist.

Donna opened her closet again and threw out a bra next onto the bed.

Kim gulped because she was nervous, but then she smiled at Donna because she was really happy that she was opening up to her. Sharing clothes was a little … intimate. "Thank you, Donna. You're a lifesaver."

"Ugh, shut up with the sappiness. Just promise me you're going to be breaking hearts tonight," Donna winked with her arms folded and she made her way back into the bathroom.

Julie's brow furrowed. "What is she doing in there, anyways?"

"Who knows?" Grace sighed.

Kim looked down at the outfit and bit on her lip. She didn't know if it was really a wise choice doing this, because maybe there was an ugly twist to it all. But then again, maybe this was the real Donna. The kind who was generous and who talked to you at all.

Then she thought, what the hell? You only live once.

* * *

The party was in full swing.

The thing about parties at Bobby Wasabi was that they absolutely went all out. One the guys' side of the building, all the doors to dorms were open (but closed) and prepared for any prying eyes and the hallways were full of partying people. There were a few food tables and more open spaces, where people could mingle and dance. The DJ set up was in front of the whole operation, Jack having set up a lot of amps and speakers around so the music reached every inch of the place. He had also been kind enough to get out his second set up of equipment and use it for the party, anyone welcome to dabble and ruin his one thousand dollars. Nothing bad had happened yet because the only people that had been up to his set up just changed the song to one of their choice on Jack's laptop and Jerry had only mixed for a little bit, but it was rubbish.

Eddie brought drinks out of nowhere, and then when people were starting to drink, things were getting crazy. Fortunately, there were a few smart people around 9including Jack) who didn't bother with the alcohol, but within the first five minutes of the party, Jerry was already crapping bubbles.

Jack was over with Jerry, Ricky and other guys, settled in the few of many beanbag chairs that had been scattered across the wide hallways. They were laughing at things that didn't make sense, and Ricky had emerged into a very inappropriate and descriptive story about what he and his girlfriend who lived in England got up to over the Christmas break.

Because Eddie had offered, he and a few others were in charge of keeping watch for where Bobby Wasabi and the rest of the staff were. He slept in a separate building with the cafeteria ladies, a few guards outside on watch but other then that, all the instructors went home after school hours, which was after eight. Lights out was at nine, which had already passed. Now Eddie was just seeing if Bobby could hear the noise.

Two hours into the party, and it was after eleven. No Bobby and no crazy, even though there were loads of drunken people around.

Ricky took his bottle of alcohol and bumped Jack's shoulder, causing the brunet to look back at him. "Dude, dude, I heard about you and Donna and I'm so sorry. I haven't had a chance to tell you, have I?"

"Nope, you haven't," Jack chuckled, shaking his head because Ricky's face looked drowsy but he sounded sober.

Jerry put an arm around Jack and kissed his cheek, which made the brunet cringed as if he had just had a sip of lemon juice. His best friend reeked of beer. "I don't know why he would do such a thing!" Jerry shouted, or rather slur shouted, as if he wanted everyone in the whole world to hear what he was saying. "I swear, you'd think he'd been drunk doing it, man! Have you seen Donna? She's a freaking … wow, her tits are awesome."

"Yes, you are very drunk Jerry," Jack said to him while the others surrounding him started to laugh at what Jerry had said.

Jerry started giggling. "I'm serious! Like … wow! They're like perfect little, psh, little, _HUGE _rounded mangos. You could just cup them in your hands like a balloon." He made big cups with his hands and starting eating the imaginary mangos. Everyone was laughing because it was hilarious to see how much funnier Jerry was when he was drunk. Jack shook his head, a little weirded out in what really went on in his friend's mind.

He removed his arm from around him and got onto his feet. He offered out a hand to his friend to assist him to getting up but instead of taking the hand, Jerry gave him his bottle of beer. "Drink, brother! I promise it will set you free!" Jack rejected Jerry's offering and pushed it right back towards him. Then everyone started chanting for him to drink. He rolled his eyes.

Because he was choking under the pressure, he brought the bottle to his lips and chugged the whole thing down whole, just to shut everyone up. Everyone started to cheer, even if they weren't apart of Jerry's little circle. Jack never drinks. When the bottle was empty, he looked at it and smiled. He was proud of himself for some reason, while everyone cheered because he had finished it.

"Don't have too much, big boy," Jack heard from next to him and turned his head. His eyes bulged right out his head. It was Grace who had said that, to his surprise. It wasn't only her who was standing where Jack's eyes were directed.

It was the whole crew – Grace, Julie and Kim. They all looked really good, really, _really_ good. Not even just good, foxy. That was a Jerry word; only Jerry used such words. Jack couldn't help but draw his eyes to Kim because he was so fascinated by her and how he felt in her presence. He didn't mean to look her up and down. She was just so and that dress so …

Jack dropped the glass bottle out his hand, snapped out from his trance and looked at the floor, blinking and trying to force the really weird thoughts that had just entered his head out. He licked his lips, trying to recover. "Uh, that was not supposed to happen." He didn't know what else to say. He did, but such thoughts shouldn't really be said out loud.

"You all look stunning," Jerry said in a slurred British accent. "Rather dashing, should I say? Why don't us four head up to my room and have some fun?"

The girls looked really disgusted by Jerry's response. Jack felt the need to explain. "As you can see, he doesn't have any more dignity and neither do I because I just dropped a bottle after seeing how good you all look tonight," he said over Jerry's continuous tiger sounds from behind him, trying to grab at Julie's legs, but she kicked him off.

The girl with glasses looked up from Jerry. "I should really go and find Milton before things spiral out of control, shouldn't I?"

"Maybe you should," Kim nodded, and Julie was off as quickly as she came. She looked at Jack. "We just came to see what all the fuss was about. And plus, I had to get away from a guy who didn't seem to get the message that I didn't want to see his dorm. And Grace was nearly kidnapped."

Jack nodded, looking the girls up and down. "I can honestly see why."

Kim's facial features faltered, like she didn't know whether to be flattered or offended. She didn't know why she would be. The brunette next to her was soaking all of this right in. She smiled, slapping a hand onto her thigh. "My legs do really look amazing in this skirt, don't they, Jackson?"

A moan escaped from Jerry, which attracted the eyes of freaked out bystanders. He tried reaching to touch Grace's legs. "Those legs don't seem to ever end, but I'd like to reach the finish."

Jack shook his head, forcing his friend up from the beanbag chair that he was about to pass out on. "Okay, buddy. Maybe it's time you hit the sack before you rape someone." He put an arm around his shoulders, trying to support his friend's stance, because he was about to tip over like a standing coin. Kim was saying something in Grace's ear and she was shaking her head. Jerry was saying something inaudible to himself, and Jack thought it was Spanish because the word _esta_ was being used a lot.

"Let me help you," Kim said, taking Jerry's other shoulder, Jack smiling thankfully Kim's way. "Okay, Jerry. Let's go this way."

Kim started following Jack back to their dorms, listening to Jerry babble on and on about how he used to have a pet goldfish he called Llama and how it died because he tried taking it for a walk when it was in his hands. Kim talked to him as if this was a totally normal thing to say and Jack just kept quiet, rolling his eyes and shaking his head at Jerry's drunkenness. Every time they threw or went to a party, he ended up drunk. That's why Jack had to be squeaky clean. He was always Jerry's ride home.

They arrived at their dorm, Jack pushing the door open with his back and switched on the light while he was at it. When the room lit up, he saw the amazement of Kim's face at how the dorm was decorated. He had a few posters here and there and there was a lava lamp in the middle of the room that lit up everything. There was huge stereo next to the bathroom and a long rack full of CD's. Jack and Kim wobbled over to the bed together and lay Jerry carefully onto it, Kim exhaling when she didn't have to support any weight.

Kim looked around the room for a moment before she smiled at Jack. "So this is where the magic happens." Jack shrugged, his arm scratching the back of his neck nervous. "Pretty impressive, I must say."

The brunet started shaking his head, dragging Kim out of the bedroom. "I think we should get out of here."

"Why?" Kim asked, confused as Jack opened the door.

He paused for a moment, looking at Kim up and down again because clearing his throat. The dress she was wearing was black, and it hugged her body very, ahem, nicely. The skirt was really low and the neckline was really low, which exposed a lot of chest. Her legs looked really good in the dress as well underneath the black stockings she was wearing, red high heels that seemed very familiar being worn on her feet.

Jack was baffled. He had been silenced.

The brunet bit on his lip. "We're in my bedroom and you're in that dress and I'm becoming pretty hormonal so I think it's the best idea you beat it before I do things." It wasn't the best sentence Jack had ever said. He saw Kim's face become a little strange. "Forget I said that. I'm half drunk. This never happened."

"I think that's the best idea I've heard all week," Kim nodded before trotting out the door before any more awkward words can be exchanged. Jack mentally kicked himself when he walked out the door behind her, closing the door. Jack and Kim walked together to the food table in silence.

Something weird happened, so they didn't get to a food table.

There was literally silence. The music stopped playing. There were a few complaints flying from here and there. Jack looked at Kim nervously and started jogging towards the mixing machine, Kim trying to follow behind him in her extremely long heels. When they got to the front of the party, they saw a crowd gathering around Jack's machine and a girl behind it. She had a top hat, and her head was looking down. Her head came back up and it smirked.

Jack knew that face.

There was just something about the loose blonde strands in her face, or those piercing and mysterious blue eyes that he used to love with such a passion. The girl was wearing red lipstick that looking like it could be smudged out of place by the gentlest touch.

Kim knew the face.

It was the face of a girl she thought was still in her dorm, snuggling in her PJ's and grieving about how her ex was throwing a party she didn't want to go to.

It was Donna Tobin. This had all been her doing.

Music started playing again, but it wasn't dancing music. It sounded acapella and it was vaguely familiar to everyone because it was a song that everyone just knew. Then there was another sound. It was the tapping of shoes coming closer and closer to Jack and Kim. They both turned around and were shocked to see replicas of Donna, all wearing the red lipstick and the top hats. They were dressed in white button down shirts, wearing short pencil skirts over stockings. They also had canes, which were dancing with them as they approached.

It was like an army of business looking Barbie dolls

The vocals started, and Jack turned his head, noticing a hand had landed on his shoulder. Behind him was Donna, and as the vocals started, she mouthed the words that Adele was singing, pointing to Kim as she did. It was around this time that the faint cheering began.

"_She, she ain't real._

_She ain't gonna be able to love you like a will."_

The hand that Donna was using to point to Kim started to caress his confused face, tracing over his features.

"_She is a stranger._

_You and I have history or don't you remember?"  
_

People all around were fascinated and a few hoots came out for drunken people when Donna's leg wrapped around Jack's waist, making him really nervous because of the outfit she was wearing. There were barely any layers between them. Her fingers travelled landed on his collarbone and started to travel down his top. Her lips were nearly pressed against his ear when she mouthed the next part.

"_Sure, she got it all,_

_But baby is that really what you want?"_

She tore away from Jack, trotting around Kim intimidatingly. The girl who was suddenly being surrounded by the posse of girls in fish net stockings pointing their canes at her felt like she was being choked and that there was no air that could save her.

"_Bless your soul, you've got your head in the clouds. _

_She made a fool outta you, and boy she's bringing you down. _

_She made your heart melt but you're cold to the core …"_

Donna brought a finger to her lips.

"_Rumor has it she ain't got your love no more." _

The posse of girls started mouthing the background vocals and poking their canes at Kim. Donna strutted over to Jack once again, licking her coated lips as she reached for his hand, dancing around him and never breaking the mere contact.

"_She is half you age,_

_But I'm guessing that's the reason you've stayed. _

_I heard you've been missing me,_

_You've been telling people things you should be._

_Like when we creep out when she ain't around …"_

Donna guided Jack's hands to her chest and he could feel her heart beating scarily steadily underneath his palm. Her legs flew open and she smirked at how pale her ex's face had become.

"_Haven't you heard the rumors?"_

Like they had with Kim, the posse of tap dancers producing sound came to Jack now, pointing their canes at him in a menacing way. Donna walked around his figure, her eyes never leaving his face.

"_Bless your soul, you've got your head in the clouds. _

_She made a fool outta you, and boy she's bringing you down. _

_She made your heart melt but you're cold to the core …"_

Donna put a finger to her lips and smiled when she stopped in front of him, her leg around him.

"_But rumor has it I'm the one you're leaving her for."_

The music abruptly stopped and everyone in at the party stopped for a moment. People didn't know what to think. Jack didn't know what to think. They were surprised, for sure, because this didn't normally happen at parties. Some were beyond confused but most really digged it. Jack didn't dig it at all.

Donna's face was serious until the corners of her lips turned up. "That was so hot!" A random called out from the crowd of people, and then people started to erupt into cheering and clapping. Jack was well aware that Donna's leg was wrapped around him in an intimate way, but he was more away of how frightened Kim looked. She was just as confused and as baffled as Jack was.

The blonde with the red lipstick jumped off of Jack, and she bowed. The girls behind her always bowed, the applause for them becoming louder. Donna swerved around on her heels and started to strut, stopping in front of Kim, her hand on her hip. The girls behind her had dispersed into the crowd, disappearing with guys who were either stoned or drunk.

"Stay away from Jack, Kim," She said above the chatter. Kim flinched, because Donna had spat on her. She meant to do it, though. It scared people. "I'm not retarded, I can see what you're trying to do and it's not going to work, okay, hun? Jack's not interested in yuck."

At that very moment, her waist was grabbed and then she was floating. It all happened so fast. She struggled but she didn't know what for. The owner of the arms didn't speak at all while they were walking through the crowd of people. Donna was demanding to be put down, but it never happened. The guy was carrying her like she was a feather, and then she put the puzzle pieces together.

It was _so_ Jack. Only Jack was this strong – for her, anyways. Not that she weighed a ton.

The next time Donna blinked, she was in Jack's bedroom. She'd been in here many times over the years as they'd connected, but she was always amazed at how much effort he put into decorating it every time. She also happened to hear Jerry's heavy snoring from his bed and shook her head, nearly laughing out loud. He only snored when he was drunk and of course, that was the case right now.

It was all just so perfect. This was wear they had their first kiss. This was where he told her he loved her. All the memories were just being pushed back into Donna's face and she was nearly in tears. She couldn't really take it.

She thought she was stronger than this.

There was a deafening pause.

"Okay. What the hell?" Jack asked, standing in front of her with his hands on his hips, looking serious and determined to find out the meaning of this. There was also something unfamiliar. It was a kind of anger. Donna really didn't like that. "What was that? What's all this?" Jack gestured towards his ex's getup. His expression flickered like a light. Then all of a sudden, he was pulling his hoodie up over his head.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Donna asked, because she didn't know what was going on.

Only when Jack had his hoodie over his head, he told her, "You need to cover yourself up. Something Jerry said about your boobs is getting me hormonal." He handed her the clothing and she took it, crossing it over her chest inside her folded and ashamed arms. Maybe Claire's idea wasn't such a good one anymore.

All of a sudden, all the seriousness drained from Jack's face and he looked like he felt sorry for Donna. The look on her face said it all about how she felt inside and he saw the girl he had once loved then. She was sad and it hurt him too. He wished it didn't. He cringed a little before saying, "Please don't look at me like that."

The girl couldn't help it anymore. Her heart of ice had melted. She'd become vulnerable as she always did when it came to Jack. Her face scrunched up and she looked down at her feet, her shoulders shaking in sobs as the tears were falling hectically down her face. "I miss you," she said in between sobs, trying to take in breaths but she failed. "I really do, Jack. I'm trying to get over you and it's not working out. Nothing's working out anymore."

"Donna," Jack started, but Donna cut off before he could say anything. He looked like he was going to cry too just because she was. He didn't know if that was the alcohol he had or if it was for real.

"You don't even want to try and be friends," Donna said, looking up at him now with her eyes red and her mascara running, but it was supposed to be waterproof. "You just cut me off completely and it really just hurt me because I knew that this was it and that you were gone for good. I feel horrible because you're getting along just fine and I'm broken about this all and I'm alone. No one gets me like you do and having you gone had really but ripped me apart and I feel like making people miserable all the time so they can feel my pain." She paused and touched her eyelashes and shook her head. "Great. This is supposed to be waterproof."

Jack smiled sadly because that was another Donna act. "I guess I have moved on, but I don't mean to cut you off completely. You should have just tried talking to me. I try talking to you but I figured you hated my guts."

"I thought you hated my guts."

"I guess we both got it wrong," Jack shrugged. "I may not love you like I did, but I always will care about you, Donna and I want you to be happy. Brody seems like a great guy, doesn't he?"

"Stop talking right now," Donna smiled and put her hand up to silence him. Claire was already on her case about him, she didn't need anybody else. "I'm glad you're happier now. I just wish I felt the same."

"It takes time," Jack said. "Longer for others. But I don't want to hate you, Donna. I really want to give us being just friends a shot."

Donna nodded. "Me too." There was a pause, filled with Jerry's snoring. The two gave each other knowing looks. "Could you give me a friendly hug?"

Jack chuckled and opened up his arms, bringing Donna into his arms and holding her in his arms tightly. She buried her face into his neck and held onto him as long as she could. It felt good. It wasn't as friendly as they hoped, but baby steps, right? When Jack pulled back, Donna slipped on Jack's hoodie before sighing.

"I'm going to go to bed," Donna announced and Jack saluted her as she opened his door. Before she closed it, she just looked at him. "Good night, Jack."

"Good night, Donna." She closed the door.

He found it a bit weird how when she had closed the door, he was thinking about Kim.

* * *

**A/N:**

I know it's unrealistic they throw a party without getting caught. But I'm going to fix that, k?

I was going to do more about Jack admitting feelings for Kim – oops, revealed something about the next chapter – but I'm lazy. That's terrible. I know. Slap me. Having said that, expect some Kick next chapter, since there was nearly none in this chapter and I'm so sorry! Next chapter, you will also see all the aftermath and how Donna and Kim are treating each other and all that and yeah.

This chapter had to happen, though. I also wanted to show everyone that Donna's human (for just a few minutes) every once in a while. She's not a complete and total monster. I hope you liked the Jace! Everything in this chapter was relevant, okay? It will count for the future chapters to come. All the Kick hungry readers just hang in there please? c:

Review, please! I love feedback and I love you! Alerts and all that are welcome too!

Excuse me while I sleep, lol.

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


	5. Realizations

**Author's Note:**

GUYS, I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER. IT'S REALLY BEEN TOO LONG AND I FEEL LIKE I'VE FAILED YOU AND HELD YOU BACK FROM THE AMAZING CHAPTER AHEAD. I know all of you have been waiting and thank you for being patient. It's just school work had become a lot and now I hardly have time to write or reply to PM's and oh no.

But hopefully all of you will have forgiven me by the end of the chapter, because it is pretty awesome. I love it. Let's just get right to it, then, okay? Good. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kickin' It or the Clocks cover of Vitamin String Quartet.

* * *

**::**

**5**

**Realizations**

**::**

* * *

On a Sunday, the academy was at its calmest. Everyone was either just relaxing in their dorms, shopping in town or practicing quietly in one of the studios. There was nothing that could interrupt the calmness of the place on a Sunday afternoon, everyone storing energy for the busy week ahead.

He was trapped in his own world today, his headphones in as he explored the campus, looking around at all the art he noticed once in a while and all the wonderful plants growing outside in the gardens, plants he'd always admired, especially at night, when all the lights were lit up upon them.

Jack was on his way to the nearest phone, paying his family their weekly phone call, since only one per week was allowed. He could have more because of his condition, but he chose to follow the rules, just like everybody else. Jack wasn't a fan of special treatment, not towards others and certainly not towards him.

When he found a payphone, he trotted towards it, fishing a few dimes out of the pockets of his jeans as well. After inserting his money and dialing the house number of his family, he waited with the hard phone being held against his ear while the phone continued to ring. It wasn't long until somebody picked up.

"Jackie!" When he heard her voice, he felt a smile tug on his lips. Only a few knew that Jack had a sister, but those who knew about Olive knew that they had a close bond, even though they had an eleven year age gap. Despite what they've been through, she was always bubbly and always happy, with her sparkling green eyes and her chestnut hair, identical to her brother's. "Mommy, it's Jack!" she called away from the phone, and Jack laughed.

The brunet played around with the phone cable, twisting it around his finger. "How'd you know it was me?"

"Mommy taught me your number," Olive said, talking fast. "She said that I can't call your number but I can always see if it's you are not." She was still the same as always, her fast-talking self and her recognizable lisp.

Jack laughed. "That's great, Olive."

"Can I tell you something?" she said innocently.

"Tell me something."

"I have two boyfriends, and Mommy said that we can get married," Olive giggled into the phone, and Jack wasn't sure if it would be weird he burst into laughter here. "B-but Mommy said I must ask you first because you're my big brother and I can't marry people without asking you."

"Your mother's a smart woman," Jack said quietly, like he was telling her a secret.

Olive pleaded, "Can I please, Jack? With a cherry on top? I promise I'll eat my vegetables."

He knew she couldn't see but he raised an eyebrow. "Even your broccoli?"

"Even my broccoli."

He sighed because he didn't believe her. "Okay," Jack said and laughed when Olive cheered on the other end of the line. "Can I talk to mom for a second, sweetie? Just want to say hi, then you can continue telling me your love story." He didn't think he had enough money for that but he just wanted to make her happy.

Olive didn't even answer, the phone just went all frazzle and suddenly Jack was hearing strange sounds. He could hear the radio in their house, the gospel their mother always listened to on a Sunday and judging by the slight sizzling he could hear, their mother was cooking as well. He could almost smell her famous chicken pie through the phone. Jack's stomach flipped over because he really missed home right now.

He heard his sister saying something to his mother about him being on the phone and wanting to talk to her and then the phone was passed. "Hey, honey," his mother said, her voice making his heart tear slowly into pieces as well. He could just imagine her in her red apron and her frizzy hair tied into a ponytail as she sang old songs. "Thought you weren't going to call. Uncle Bobby was saying that you're busy with music for the showcase."

"Me too," Jack said honestly, leaning against the wall next to him now because he was tired of standing. "But I made some time and found a few dimes in my bag today that appeared out of nowhere."

Jack's mother laughed. "So how's it going, sweetheart?"

"Uh," Jack just shrugged. "Everything's fine." Everything was, wasn't it?

"Uncle Bobby called me yesterday about the stunt you pulled," his mother scoffed on the other side. "You know I don't like you getting into trouble, Jackson. And a _party_? With _alcohol_?" Her voice was getting louder and louder, and Jack's face remained emotionless. "You have a good head on those shoulders of yours, honey! I don't know what brought you to do such activities but I don't want to hear about them again, understood?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, mom."

"Good. I would ground you but I'm sure Bobby has fixed up some sort of punishment for you," she said confidently.

"Don't sweat it, mom. Jerry and I are on dish duty the entire week." It may have sounded like nothing, but doing dishes for more than three hundred students? It was a punishment, torture more like it.

He heard his mother laugh again. "Of course Jerry had something to do with this."

"Doesn't he always?" Jack chuckled. He didn't know why his mother was so fond of his Latino best friend. As a child, Jack and his mother used to get into all sorts of arguments because he believed that she loved Jerry more than her own son. By now, obviously they've sort out those differences, but there were still times when Jack cringed at the mischievous relationship they had, one he could never have with his mother.

"Tell him I send my warm regards," Jack's mother said, and he could hear the smile on her face. "Olive and I are missing you loads, Jack."

"You have no idea how much I miss you guys as well," Jack said, looking down at his fingers getting swallowed by the telephone cable. "She was actually telling me about boyfriends …"

"Don't even get me started," Jack's mother said hastily. "Please tell me you said no."

"She said she'd eat all her vegetables."

"Even her broccoli?"

"Even her broccoli."

Jack's mother laughed again. "I don't believe her for one second and I'm sure you don't either. Your sister's a tricky one, but we still manage to get by. You just focus on your studies and continue doing what you do best, okay?"

The brunet sighed and looked around the hallways, seeing nobody in sight. "Okay, mom. Thanks. And I guess I better end the call before the phone cuts me off. Give Olive a kiss for me, will you?"

"Will do," Jack's mother giggled. "Love you. Bye."

"Bye."

And with perfect timing, his money finished. He'd been calculating the time he had left in his head. He always did that when having a phone call with home. He didn't know why. It had just become a habit. He still held the phone to his ear long after the call had ended, hearing the beeps, how long they dragged on and how long it took before another began.

After a while, he finally put the phone back into its place by the machine and quickly walked away from it, stuffing his headphones back into his ears and listening to the calm acoustic music. _Trees, oh, trees, do you remember me from before, from before? _The tempo of the music was slow, unlike the music he had been listening to and mixing all week.

He walked out of the dorm building and out into the sunlight, seeing a few clouds in the sky and a few girls and guys hanging around the garden talking about whatever. Jack couldn't hear because he was listening to music. He'd left one of his other headphones in one of the studios, he didn't know whether it was studio three A or four. He decided not to dwell on the confusion and continued listening to his music.

He entered the building, saying hello to a freshman girl who waved at him and a few other guys on his way to the studio he had decided he'd left his headphones in. Looking through the glass of the door, he saw that it was occupied, but delicately turned the handle and opened it cautiously so he couldn't interrupt the routine.

Jack was surprised when he saw what he did. He blinked twice again; just to make sure he was seeing what he was supposed to be seeing. It was Kim, Grace and _Donna_ in the same room, and nothing had been set on fire yet. He stood at the doorway, observing them like they were animals.

He'd figure that with what happened at the party, Kim and Donna wouldn't have been able to stand each other but then again here they were, dancing together and laughing at their mistakes like buddies, spinning around and doing pretty French ballet moves with pretty French ballet names.

It seemed weird. Not just any weird, but Donna weird. She was up to something.

They were all dressed in leggings and crop tops, except Donna, who was in her usual revealing hot pants and pale stockings. They all had their pointe shoes on, their perfect little legs moving along to Donna's counting. _One, two, three four, five six and pleay._

"Oh, shit," Grace said, her face looking as I it were in agony. She nearly toppled right over. "My feet are starting to kill me. Joan said that I'm weak and that because I have flat feet, I need to work on my strength and my perseverance. I don't know how people manage, though. Maybe next year, I'll drop the dance altogether."

The blonde in the hot pants gasped dramatically, making Jack roll his eyes. It was an instinct. "No, Grace! You can't give up because Joan thinks you can't do it. That's her job. She's paid to feed you rude thoughts and kill your confidence. It what makes you better."

The other blonde bent over to stretch her leg, bringing it up slowly and slowly until she was shouldering it. Jack had to admit he was impressed. "Easy for you to say," Kim said, sounding like a mumble at first. "Joan loves you. Ouch. I don't think I stretched properly."

"She hasn't always loved me," Donna sighed, walking away slowly from Grace to pick up her water on the floor. She took a sip out of it before she said, "Ask your friend, Julie. She's been around for a while. Maybe she'll remember. Joan used to make me cry at night. It was awful. But then I proved her wrong and I gained her respect. I see a bit of myself in you, Grace."

Grace laughed. "Must be miniscule. I'll never be anything like you. You're perfect and you're pretty and all the choreographers …" but she trailed off when she saw somebody standing at the door, listening to what they were saying and seeing what they were doing. Grace smiled though, because it was okay. "Oh, hey Jack."

The boy came out from the shadows so the girls could see him. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, and the corners of his mouth were curled up now. Jack still looked good without managing it, in his jeans and his long sleeved blue shirt and usual Vans.

Donna looked at him from over her water bottle and could feel herself growing hot and congratulated herself for looking good today and for remembering his schedule on a Sunday afternoon, enough to put the plan into motion. Kim saw him in the mirror, and nearly toppled over at the sight of him, her legs going back down to her side, butterflies starting to fly out of control in her stomach.

Why was she feeling this?

"Hello, ladies," Jack said, laughing slightly. "What are you guys doing here?"

Kim gulped and cleared her throat. "Oh no, Julie's out in town with Milton and Grace and I thought it would be cool to practice our ballet practical and get started. It's due this week and we haven't gotten a chance to practice so …" Kim shrugged. She didn't know why she was talking so fast. Was she nervous?

Donna laughed and flipped her hair. Jack gulped because she was sexy. "Such a coincidence we run into each other like this, though I figured you'd come here sooner of later because I saw your red headphones somewhere." Jack never knew how she did it but Donna had always read his mind. He thought it was cool once upon a time. Now he has the assumption that she is a dancing witch.

"Thanks," Jack said, nodding his head and smiling again, but this smile was funny. It didn't look charming, it looked curious. "You always know what's happening, don't you, Donna?" The atmosphere between them kind of shifted. It wasn't friendly, like it was supposed to be. He knew she was up to something and was warning her to stop before she started screwing things up.

Jack narrowed his eyes a little bit and Donna kept her plastic smile on her lips. Jack looked passed her at the two girls behind them, who were confused about the interaction they had just exchanged. To ease everything up, he smiled at Grace and winked at Kim before turning on his heel to the corner of the room, where there was a desk for him to hide his things in. Maybe that wasn't its purpose but that's what he used it for.

Kim blushed, and tried to hide it, but Grace was giggling next to her, pointing at her jokingly. Ever since the party, things have been a little weird between Jack and Kim, not that much could happen, since it was two days ago. But yesterday, they were standing next to each other in the dinner line and he was looking her up and down and he was cracking jokes and being funny. And while she was drinking her Fanta, he winked at her from across the dining hall and nearly makes her spit it out.

"He's into you," Julie said last night while we were brushing our teeth. "There's no denying it. The reason why he won't pull the trigger, I think, is because of Miss Crazy." Also know as Donna Tobin.

She didn't know whether she liked him either. Jack was just her friend. Even if they were growing closer day by day, she didn't have time to like him. She had her solo to worry about, not to mention the work they were giving them anyways and all that other jazz. Kim came here to dance, not have lame high school crushes on boys she knew she could never have. She decided to put her feelings for a person she barely even knew right aside.

When Jack had received his headphones, he was about to walk out when Grace stopped him. "Going already?" He turned around, his expression amused.

"I have to hit the books. I have this test tomorrow that my teacher's giving me and I can't fail," he said, but Grace was already coming towards him and grabbing him by the wrist, dragging him to follow her. The girl reminded him of Jerry: pushy and demanding. All in a good way, he supposed. They make the best of friends.

"You have to stay and watch," Grace said, looking at him suspiciously. _What the heck?_ Jack couldn't help but think. But then her expression softened and the worry was gone as he is forced to take a seat by the stereo, Kim apologizing mutely behind Grace's back.

Donna nodded, her eyes happy. "Grace is right. You should totally watch. We don't know if it's good enough to show to Joan and you know what she likes, don't you? We couldn't have another judge more perfect." She took a few steps back, Kim taking the steps with her and Grace following after them.

Kim nodded towards the stereo and Jack turned his body and pressed play. The music was classical, like he expected. It was a cover of a song he'd heard before and realized it was a string quartet cover of Coldplay's _Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall_. He had that type of knowledge of music, by just hearing the first few seconds of the songs and he could already identify it.

He watched closely as the girls gracefully moved, their feet strong and their noses high. Their legs leaped and their arms swayed so beautifully. Grace wasn't as bad as she thought she was. She looked like the ballerina type, tall and had a good figure. Her posture was really good and even though she stumbled here and there because she was obviously tired, she still pulled it off. Donna's skill never ceased to amaze Jack, her movements so perfect, her face so serious but still remained beautiful.

But the problem was that his eyes were drawn to Kim the entire time. He tried to look at Grace and Donna here at there to take away the obvious curiosity in how she moves. Her hair was loose in her face but she didn't seem to mind. Her body had this certain bouncy to it, like when she was doing modern, but she somehow incorporated it in ballet. He gulped a few times because his gaze always travelled up at down, recognizing things he shouldn't be recognizing. Like the face that her bra was purple or the fact that her legs looked longer in pointe shoes and her butt …

He mentally slapped himself. He reminded himself that his crazy ex was in the same room and that they were supposed to be cool. He couldn't ruin it. Plus, checking a girl out while she was dancing was just plain wrong. Maybe it wasn't, but his mother raised him to be polite. Knowing a girl's bra color after looking up there for a certain amount of time – Jack blinked all the thoughts away. Focus.

They stopped at a point, because they hadn't completed all of the choreography and they all smiled at Jack, giving each other high fives for good work. Jack paused the track and looked up at the girls.

"Well?" Donna asked, putting her palms together. "What do you think?"

Jack swallowed, looking at Kim look at him. "It was great. Joan will love it." He truly meant it though. They weren't half bad.

Grace shrugged. "Okay, then. So same time and place tomorrow?" The other girls nodded, and they started gathering their bags and things in the studio.

Donna was the first to head off to the changing rooms, blowing Jack a kiss before she disappeared. He didn't mind. Donna did do that with Claire after all. They were friends. Grace was next, her one foot sore and she was limping badly, like she'd just been hit by a car on one side. He could only imagine the pain. He didn't know how girls managed in those things.

"You okay there, Grace?" Jack called when she entered the changing rooms.

"Peachy!" Grace shouted back, her head popping out the door before it went again.

Kim was busy stuffing her water bottle and pointe shoes into her bag, trying to get her locks out of her hair multiple times before she actually succeeded. It was Jack who spoke up first, breaking the awkward silence. "You guys good now?"

"We've always been good, silly," Kim said, but she sounded really tired. She looked at Jack through the mirror. "Friday was just a misunderstanding. Donna apologized and said that it was dramatic and unnecessary." That didn't sound like her at all. "You two seem good. I guess you two must have had one heck of a talk, huh?"

Jack shrugged. "She was spinning out of control. We've agreed to say just friends. She didn't want me out of her life completely and having her out of mine wasn't doing me much good either. I hope us having this new relationship means that I'm out in the clearing. But with her, you never know."

Kim nodded. "I'm glad you two sorted things out." She genuinely was, even though she admitted to feeling the slightest tinge of jealousy. "I'm sure it would be a little strange for you guys to part completely – for other people of course. I just got here so I wouldn't really know." She mentally face palmed herself for sounding so stupid. Why did she sound stupid?

The guy next to her didn't seem to think so, though. She'd been really nice towards Donna since the day she got here, even after she humiliated her in front of everybody. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I finished the track," Jack said, Kim's face lighting up with excitement. She turned around from her bag and rose up to the same level as him. Her smile was broad and her eyes were sparkling. She looked like a giddy child. "Don't get too excited, I haven't found a disk to burn it onto, so I'm only going to go into town next week to get a few."

The blonde raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "So you're asking me to wait a whole freaking week to hear my dancing track, the one that I desperately need to practice with?" Jack nodded, chuckling. Kim popped out her hip and glared at him. "Can't I at least have a little listen?"

"Okay," Jack said, nodding slowly. "You could come by my dorm some time and we could check it out together if you really want. It's on my computer, so I can't really transport it around the campus. Are you up for it?"

"Wednesday, after dinner," Kim proposed. "That's the only time I'm having a break during the week. Other times, I'm still practicing."

Jack offered out his hand. "Alright. Deal?"

Kim smirked before she turned her hand into a fist. Jack did the same, catching her drift, but that drift slowly left him when Kim knocked her fist on top of his. They swapped knowing looks before Jack did the same with her fist, before they pumped them and froze in that position, looking at each other all funny.

"We need a cool phrase to say there, when we blow them up," Kim said, her other hands scratching her chin. Jack continued to think. "I'm not really got at this part."

He said, "We don't need to say anything. We can just do something really weird, like … I don't know, bump hips."

"That's perfect!"

"I was just joking."

"Well, that was your mistake. Come on. On three?" Jack reluctantly gave in and let Kim count them down. When she said three, their hips collided for only split seconds, their mouths making a weird sound when they did, like "wheya". It was enough to get them both to break out into laughter. They nearly collapsed it was so hilarious.

When the laughter had started to calm down, Kim spoke. "Well, I better go and get changed."

Jack nodded. "Maybe you should."

"Cool."

"Cool."

"Cool." It was only then she started walking away, picking up her things and turning on her heel, trotting out quickly, her blonde hair swaying beautifully. She looked back before she took a step into the changing rooms, giving her friend a little wink before she was able to disappear.

It happened in a random moment, it always did.

Right there, in that studio, standing all alone and looking at his reflection in the mirror, it hit him like a tsunami tide, his mind becoming frazzled, thoughts twisting like a tornado and his stomach causing earthquakes. He could feel it everywhere, the warmth he only got from that one person, and a person that had once been Donna. The feeling was like an all around natural disaster.

To be honest he'd seen it all coming, but he didn't expect it to be that bad when it hit.

He put his fingers in his hair stressfully and stalked out of the studio quickly, because the thoughts weren't going away this time, and he thought that if he didn't tell someone about it quick, he might explode.

* * *

"**Before Bobby Wasabi, where were you?"**

"_I used to live in Indiana with my grandmother."_

"_I came down from Canada for this opportunity. My parents were willing to go the extra mile, thank goodness, and now I'm here, doing what I love everyday, twenty four seven and living the dream."_

"_My parents and I used to live in India. For more opportunities, we came down here a few years ago."_

"_Washington."_

"_We left New York when I was selected for the academy."_

"_Dallas."_

"_Brazil."_

"_Seattle."_

"_I've always lived here, to be honest. There's no other place in the world better than Seaford."_

"_I'm from England."_

"_North Korea."_

* * *

Jerry was busy skimming through all of his footage on his laptop, placing a few of the videos in his _showcase film_ file on his desktop to edit later. This is how he normally spent a Sunday afternoon if he wasn't dancing or out with friends. He was editing things he just rounded up on his camera. On other occasions it was just for fun, but Bobby had spotted Jerry's film making talent and asked him to prepare something extra special for the showcase this year, just to shake a few things up. Jerry was flattered and got right to work, never missing an opportunity to sit down and just play around with footage.

He was really in the zone when his best friend slash roommate burst into the dorm, not even greeting him before getting to the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. When Jerry heard the shower, his attention turned to his friend and his eyes widened. Uh oh. Nothing good ever comes out of Jack having a shower in the afternoon. One should always be alarmed when it happened. The guy makes life decisions in there.

He closed his HP closed and put it onto his bedside table before he sprung up and went to the bathroom door. He knocked, ahem, pounded on it, loud enough for the boy inside to hear. Jerry knew he heard. He just didn't respond. "Jack, what's wrong?" He called, but the sound of the shower continued and that was all he continued to hear. Jerry pounded a few times again. "You better start talking before I come in there!" He wasn't kidding. If he's done it twice, he can do it again.

Jack knew that responding with something he didn't want was better than nothing at all. "Just give me a minute Jer! I need to think!"

The Latino left it alone and returned to his bed, crouched down and facing the bathroom door, waiting for Jack. He was very eager to find out what was going on. He was just nosy like that. Jerry swore it was exactly a minute before the shower stopped. He never learnt why his friend was so accurate with timing. He once joked about him being mildly OCD.

A few seconds later, Jack was out of the bathroom like he said he'd be, his white towel around his waist and his hair dripping wet. He'd need to dry it because it was dinner really soon, but it's not like he paid close attention to that right now. He looked like some kind of Abercrombie ad; a sight any girl would pay to see. Jerry was used to this, and was over the envious feelings. He wanted to cut right down to the chase.

"Okay. Thinking time is over, my friend. What's the problem?"

Jack turned right around and closed the door behind him. It was like he was embarrassed. Jerry stood up again, but didn't go straight to the bathroom door. First, he got out a new pair of undies for Jack and grabbed his cologne and deodorant as well. Afterwards, he sank down next to the bathroom door, prepared to talk to his friend. "Can you tell me now?" Jerry tried again.

"I like Kim."

He didn't see what the big deal was. "Are you for real? C'mon, man. I like Kim too."

"No, Jerry," he sighed behind the door, and then he heard something fall from the sink. There was a little pause before he continued to his point. "I don't just like her. I _dig_ her. She's awesome. She's funny, she's sweet, she's down to earth, she's hot, and she can dance."

Jerry rolled his eyes. "Surprise, surprise," he said sarcastically. "And you think I'm the idiot. Dude. I could see this from the second you freaking laid eyes on her on the first day of school, when she asked you to mix something. That was pretty bold of her. Confidence is sexy."

There were other sounds of commotion in the bathroom. "Yeah, it's totally sexy. But today, I was watching her dance again for the millionth time but then this time, it was scary. I was starting to have really scary thoughts, Jer, like you with Grace when you're drunk. I was noticing things like how defined her butt is and how big she was on the chest. I wanted to pack her up in my pants and drag her to bed with me or – oh my God. I can't believe I just said that."

Jack's best friend was halfway through a laughing fit by now. This was definitely something now for Jack. Sure, he knew that he liked Kim, but dragging her to bed with him? Now that's serious. "Who's the horn dog now?"

"This shouldn't be happening! I just got out of a pretty serious relationship, my first serious relationship. I should be freaking heartbroken. It should kill me to see Donna with other guys but no; it kills me seeing Kim with other guys. I should be grieving over the fact that I can't get emotionally attached to anyone else but no, I'm grieving over the fact that I can't be with Kim because Donna's crazy."

The Latino rested his head on the door because his laughter had died down a little bit. "Man, there's nothing wrong with digging a girl after a break up. It's healthy. You broke up with Donna didn't you? You're the one who's supposed to be happy the relationship is over because you're not involved with someone who's holding you back from your own freedom."

"I give you less credit than you deserve, Jerry," Jack said a little softly on the other side. "That's the most intelligent thing I've ever heard you say." Jerry smiled. "And you're right. I am happy that I have freedom. Donna was holding me back. I'm free now. And I should ask Kim out because I dig her."

"There you go, my friend."

"But the thing is, Donna's feelings towards Kim could flip over completely if her and I become anything. I don't want to jeopardize their friendship, you know?"

"Could you be selfish for just one second?" Jerry got up onto his feet and had the courage to open the door. There he saw Jack, his face covered in shaking cream, the razor had already caught a few spots, so there were skids on random places on his face. Jerry threw his things onto the floor before he said, "You're still thinking about Donna. You guys are just friends. Nothing more. Trust me. You don't want to be stuck with the thoughts of what could have been."

"Says you," Jack said, returning to the mirror and picking up his razor again. "You're into Grace. You guys were getting it on at the party but now you're ignoring her."

Jerry frowned. He knew he and Grace had total chemistry, but he was a bit of a wimp, underneath all that swag. He was like any other teenager. Even the swag master had his blues, especially when it came to girls. He'd been so busy focusing on Jack's love life and sorting it out that he hadn't had a chance to make a move on Grace yet.

The truth is, he'd never had a girlfriend. There was a difference between girls-you-just-hooked-up-with-because-there-was-a-party-and-it'll-never-happen-again and girlfriends. With girls you just hook up with, you just make out, talk to them about your problems and then you leave them to rust in the dirt. With girlfriends, you had to commit to them and you had to care for them and you had to share things with them.

The Latino had never been one for commitment, but then again, he'd never felt this way about any other girl before. Grace, she was something else. She had the spark of a girl his kind, a beauty with balls. He wanted to be with her, and for a long time. He knew he had to make the effort.

"That's because the last time I spoke to her, I was drunk out of my mind," Jerry gulped, looking away from Jack because he looked right into his soul.

The brunet nodded. "Do you want her to think that you were only into her at the party because you were drunk?"

"…No."

"Then make a move, you retard."

* * *

The cafeteria was very busy that night, also bleeding many different colors due to all the people who were out of uniform due to them going into town and coming straight back before dinner. The line never seemed to end, but luckily, Kim and Grace had made the effort to come here early, since they made a bet with Julie and Milton that they'd be here first this time, since the two had gone into town on a date.

Somehow, they still managed to be parked at their usual seats, on time with their dinner in front of them. How did they even get passed them in the line? Kim and Grace were one of the first people there. Julie's fingers were going crazy over the keypad of her phone, not looking up at the girls. It was Milton who noticed them first, and greeted them with laughter.

He cleaned up well for a nerd. Even though he was wearing a sweater vest, the jeans he had on and with his hair up seemed to morph the whole look into something that could come across as attractive. Julie looked really pretty, in her little skirt and her frilly top and her messy bun. The couple's legs were intertwined but above the table, they seemed far apart.

Julie's head whipped out at the abrupt sound of Milton's cackle. She giggled as well, putting her BlackBerry on the table. "You guys lost the bet." Kim and Grace looked at each other and rolled their eyes before taking a seat opposite of the two.

Milton offered out a hand. "Pay up, sister."

"I can only do that once my allowance coming through the mail," Grace said, digging into her lasagna. Sure it was unhealthy, but she didn't care right now. She was dead hungry and she wanted to eat. But then she thought about how the scale would disappoint her and she put down her fork. "So if you really want your dirty money, you're going to have to wait a few days."

Julie scoffed, leaning back into her chair and shaking her head. She was a little impressed with Grace's ahead thinking. "You did it on purpose didn't you?"

Kim shrugged. "I honestly thought we were going to win. But I guess I was wrong." The blonde dug a fork into her food and the four of them entered a silence. It didn't last very long, then. It's been a whole day. They had a lot of catching up to do.

Kim spoke up after a bite. "Ya'll, where's Eddie?"

Milton's shoulders went up and then they went down. "I don't know. He was on our bus with us on the way there but then we didn't see him on the way back. Maybe he got caught up. He does that a lot, but don't worry. He always returns in one piece."

"What's wrong, Grace?" Julie asked her friend who was looking down at her food like it was poison. "Are you going to eat that? The lasagna's really good tonight, I don't know what they put in it but okay." Kim put a hand on the brunette's shoulder when the pause pulled on.

"I'm just worried about gaining a few. Joan's getting into my head and Donna said that the only way that I can gain her respect is by proving her wrong. I have to be skinny and fit and fight with my flat feet in order to be her vision of a perfect ballerina." Kim's head was on Grace's shoulder now, hoping that she was comforting her friend.

Milton raised an eyebrow. "Donna said this?"

The strawberry blonde next to him threw her fork in the air and barely recognized it land on the floor. "Oh my hat, what did the python feed to you now?"

Grace pushed away her food. "She's right though, Julie. I'm better at ballet than anything else. I thought I was good. But coming here and seeing everyone else, I realize I'm not so good after all. Donna's the perfect ballerina and she said that she sees a bit of herself in me. So now I'm taking her advice, doing what she did because she, like me, didn't have Joan's blessing at the start."

"_So?_" Julie and Milton said in unison, because they were both shocked at the words coming out of her mouth. Before, Grace thought nicely of herself. After just one afternoon with the devil and her whole perspective on life changes. Alone, Milton said, "You're different and you're already good and already skinny. I'm sure if I wasn't going out with Julie, I'd be totally into you."

His girlfriend chose to ignore the last part, because she was grateful that he was trying to make her friend feel better. "And the only reason why Joan hated Donna in the first place is because she is a grade A-"

"Language, honey."

"Whatever. But the point is Grace, you're amazing. You're beautiful and you dance really well. Don't underestimate yourself. You're someone's reason to smile in this school, including me."

"And me," Kim said from the brunette's shoulder, patting her hand onto the girl's thigh, making her smile.

"And me," Milton said, before gobbling down food.

Maybe she wasn't that bad. Julie was right. Donna had fed her these thoughts and before, she was just fine. She was a magnificent dancer and she was model thin. All she needed to do was open Joan's aging eyes and show her what real talent was. That would be her mission.

Then something weird happened. The whole cafeteria came to a freeze, the chatter becoming less and the line stopping almost completely. Everyone's heads turned to the doors that lead into the hall, doors which had just opened very noisily. Nobody expected it to be Jerry Martinez stomping into the hall, his feet loud and his head set into one direction: Grace's.

He was coming fast towards her, almost running, but he managed to keep his cool. Grace on the other hand was panicking. Her heart was beating fast and her stomach was flopping over on many different sides because he looked so cute in a uniform but mostly because he was coming this way and he looked really mad and now she was getting nervous because she didn't know what she did to make him angry.

Everyone at her table was looking at her looking at Jerry, confusion flickering in their facial features. What was going on? Had something happened that they didn't know about?

Grace and Jerry made eye contact before he stopped behind her chair, shoving his hands into the pockets of his blazer nervously. He didn't look very angry anymore. Now he looked scared, which made Grace's heart beat even faster. They stood there looking at each other for a long time before she had the instinct to get up from her chair. The scratching of the metal chair legs on the floor was the only sound being made in the hall, and her little footsteps, going closer and closer towards him.

"What's wrong?" Grace asked in a small voice, wiping her sweaty hands onto the skirt of her school dress, swallowing her spit before her throat went dry.

Jerry looked at his feet before he looked up at her face to answer her. "I'm here to right a wrong. I have a friend and he told me that I've been sending you mixed signals."

"You have," Grace said, and she felt a smile grow on her face.

"And I'm sorry for that, because that's an ass move. I shouldn't be sending you mixed signals because I really like you Grace and I want you to know that. I want you to know that even though I was drunk the other night and I said stupid things, I meant them. I meant everything from your pretty eyes and your long legs and I didn't kiss you because I didn't want to."

Kim had a double take and looked at her friend across the table. Julie looked at her with the same look, her eyes wide and confused. Wait. Hold up one second.

Grace and Jerry kissed? And how did they not know about this?

Jerry continued. "You've been driving me absolutely crazy, Grace. I don't normally feel this way about girls for so long and I really don't know what I'm doing. I know everyone's watching me do this but I don't care because I need to tell you right now how I feel and I want to ask you if you feel the same way."

There was a pause, everyone looking at Grace and waiting for answer. Everyone was on the edge of his or her seats to see what was going to happen. Finally, she spoke. "I do, but I don't believe you."

He didn't know what else to do. There was nothing else he could do to prove how much he liked her. He didn't know what came over him. He didn't know where the courage came from. Maybe it was from how fed up he was about everyone questioning how he felt for Grace, including himself. He just reached forward, caught her pretty face in his hands and pressed his lips against his.

The whole cafeteria burst into a collection of hooting, cheering and clapping. They couldn't hear them though. Grace was too busy kissing Jerry back with all she had left and he was kissing her, proving how much he really felt for her. They felt things they didn't feel before in the other kiss. This time, there were more butterflies and there were the cliché fireworks and there was a meaningful passionate side to all of it. She could feel it, feel that he had meant every (drunk) word; feel that the confession had just made was for real.

She was glad he decided to kiss her again.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I don't know where that last part came from. My fingers kind of just went out of control and then all of a sudden, I was turning the Kick chapter into a Jace chapter, so in this one, you got the best of both, although I still cannot believe my Jace feels. They're just really flying all over the place.

What I really liked in this chapter was how we saw the real side of Grace and how worried about her weight she was. And then there's Donna, who is obviously up to something, but we'll only see the outcome of that in the next chapter, which, don't worry, I will publish soon. I'm sorry again that this one took forever. I was just busy on Jitters and school as well and ugh, everything is too much. I don't know how I managed last year. I've been on a break for too long.

Anyhoo, please review and tell me your thoughts, lovelies, because it would be really nice to see what ya'll think of the new comeback chapter and everything. Don't forget to follow and favorite as well and all that jazz.

I love you, because you've stuck around this long in the enormous author's note and the story.

Keep amazing,

Nia. (:


	6. Falling Slowly

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for the delay. School's almost over and their cramping in every last mark and project so I've been super busy, but ya'll better be expecting more frequent updates since it's holiday soon and I don't have a social life so yes!

Oh my word, I didn't know that people would still read this. Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews and follows and everything and someone made a few comments about the last chapter and I'll take them into consideration. I love you guys so much for supporting my writing and this story and gah, too many emotions right now. Also going to apologize for being a little late with the update but its here so yay.

I don't know honestly where this chapter came from. I planned this story out forever ago and now, I'm going down another path all of a sudden, but it's a path I'm happy I'm taking. Ladies and gentlemen, put on those seatbelts, get that popcorn, eat those skittles and get ready for an awesome chapter.

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Kickin' It or any of the music mentioned in this chapter, okay, guys?_

* * *

**::**

**6**

**Falling Slowly**

**::**

* * *

"_Kim! Just wait a minute."_

_He didn't know how he screwed up so bad, to be honest. If you told him yesterday he'd be doing something so stupid, he would have never believed it. Jack wasn't that kind of guy; he wasn't a heart breaker. _

_He was running through the sprinklers, his sneakers were damp from the wet grass, which had been coated by the sprinklers, looking like a thousand flying stars in the darkness of the night. He could see her in her uniform, her swishing blonde hair, the hair that had been driving him crazy over the last few days, running away from him and the world they were stuck in. His legs only began to grow faster, ignoring the sprinkles of water contacting his skin time to time. _

_When he stopped in front of her now frozen figure, he could feel the denim of his jeans sticking to his skin and could feel himself quickly beginning to grow cold, the sprinklers sending rain upon them and then rain somewhere else. It still seemed like rain. The dreary weather that sent everyone indoors and bright eyed children to the windowsills._

_She turned around after she had stood there for a few minutes, collecting her thoughts and then she turned around to face him, to face the face that had disappointed her. She was angry because the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't piss off. Kim was angry because she had these feelings for him she knew she couldn't have. She knew his kind. _

_He was looking down at her and noticed that there was no running mascara. He was reminded of how she was just naturally pretty. _

_The words he started off with were, "Would you let me explain?"_

_Kim didn't want to give him the satisfaction, or win her heart back because everything had gone out of control. Her hormones were failing her. She shouldn't be getting butterflies. She should be getting sore ankles and strained muscles from hard work. Not relationships. But there she was, nodding away at him because she wanted to see what he had to say because there had to be a reason why they guy who had known her better than anybody else here was doing this. _

"_I need you to listen, okay? From start to finish. I don't want you to interrupt me. Maybe I'll get it right the second time and not chicken out …" he was referring to earlier on, before the almost. The blonde in front of him gave him a look, one he couldn't see because the "rain" came again. But he started talking anyways._

* * *

four days earlier

The grand gesture that Jerry had made came with a price, obviously. He'd prepared for this situation. Besides, sitting in the big man's office was nothing new. The bookcase, wooden desk and picture frames always greeted him with something like happiness whenever he entered the room. The only thing that didn't greet him nicely was Bobby Wasabi.

Grace was freaked out because she was a good girl, who never got into situations that actually needed to be talked through with a headmaster. The picture frames didn't greet her with happiness; she could feel their looks of shame. Bobby didn't look particularly peeved, however. He looked disgusted, disturbed, like the fact that humans could kiss was very new to him.

They both took their seats cautiously as Bobby looked at them. The chairs squeaked like they were old, and the scent of wood filled their noses. The man with a ponytail cleared his throat before he said anything. "Jerry Martinez and Grace Wexler." Yes, that was indeed their names. "I don't know why I expected you being a part of this chaotic event, Jerry. You get in trouble too much. Yet, you are one of the best dancers in this academy. It's a weird mix of characteristics is it?"

"Yes it is, Bobby, sir," Jerry said, trying hard not to smile. He wanted to laugh long and hard.

"And Grace," Bobby's eyes darted to her like knives. Her heart dropped and she looked down at her bare knees. She felt weird about the height of her skirt now that she was in the principal's office. "I would have never expected you. So new to the academy and I can see potential, that's why I chose you. You're good, becoming great, but then you do this and ruin my respect towards you and make me question whether letting you into this school was a mistake."

Jerry didn't like this one bit, her getting the blame for something that she couldn't help. He raised his hand but did not wait to be acknowledged. "Come on, sir. You can't blame Grace for this. _I_ stormed into the cafeteria and disrupted everyone. _I_ can the one who started it and _I_ was the one who kissed her. Blame me."

Grace's eyes went to him and he was already looking at her. She wanted to tell him thank you, but she knew her eyes did enough talking when Jerry nodded, signaling that he'd read the look. Bobby didn't notice this luckily. "Nevertheless. The display of affection was irrelevant and against school rules. It's okay to be … romantically involved with a peer, I understand. This is a unisex boarding school. But only as long as your sexual urges are kept under control and in private. If not, this becomes a problem."

"I apologize, sir," Grace said and she sounded like she was pleading for forgiveness – only because she was. "Last night was an accident and it certainly won't happen again."

Bobby scoffed. "I better hope it doesn't." A pause. "You two are the first to _ever_ pull such a stunt! And if we had surprise guests over at the school for dinner last night, how do you think that would have affected our reputation as a school and the showcase … and _me_? "

Something inside of the Latino snapped completely. He didn't know where he had received all this extra dose of courage from but he could feel something coming and it was something stupid, but it would be worth it because he was sick and tired of always being the bad guy. The idiot person. The guy who was troublesome and would end up in jail at some point. The word he said brought shock for everybody.

"Bullshit."

There was silence, a silence in which Grace gasped and Bobby Wasabi suddenly lost all mental control. Judging by the eye twitch, the nose twitch and the burning face, he had probably erupted inside of himself but was too taken aback to say a word.

"Do you know why what you're saying is complete bullshit, Mr. Wasabi? You say that Grace and I are the first to pull a stunt like this! The first! With all due respect, _Robert_ but you and I both know that what you're saying isn't true. Just because you may not want to remember it, and the humiliation that you faced doesn't mean it didn't happen.

"You think that because the media didn't get involved, you're safe. They can still find out. You think that because Grace is a fresh face means that she won't find out. But she sure isn't an idiot, and someone here someday is going to tell her all of the horrid things that had happened at this school before she got here. Maybe it will be me, I don't know. Maybe somebody could leak things onto the Internet. God only knows."

Grace suddenly remembered about platonic plates, plates that were in the ground that caused earthquakes. She remembered that she flunked that test and went over it so many times it hurt for the exams so her parents would let her audition. What causes the earthquakes were the energy released from them, after building pressure for so long that they shifted drastically, sending the energy up wards and onto land or above water, causing earthquakes and tsunamis.

That's what she saw with Jerry right now. Something had been building pressure inside of him and now he had created an earthquake, and judging by the horrified look on Bobby's face, it was a ten of the rector scale, the destructive and life threatening kind. Her heart was beating fast and hard, she was very surprised that nobody could hear it.

Bobby stood to his feet, but he was a little short, so it didn't make too much of a difference. His eyes were dark all of a sudden, glaring at Jerry and his clenched jaw and his annoyed nose and his disrespectful body language. "Are you threatening me, Mr. Martinez?"

Jerry stood up to his height and suddenly he looked superior, like he was the headmaster and Bobby was the scared teenager. "I would never have the pleasure," he said, his jaw never unclenching. It freaked Grace out how scary he could be when he wants to. "Do you know why? I love this school. I love dancing. But if it weren't for Jack and how close we were and how close he is to you as well, there would be nothing stopping me. There are always other schools, but you better be thankful that I know Jack like I do and that I know that this getting out would hurt him and his future."

He knew he'd hit the spot. The vulnerable spot that everybody had, even Bobby Wasabi. He had forgotten about Grace being in the room, but when he realized she still was, he didn't care. He took a few steps back slowly before he turned around to exit the office because he couldn't take it anymore. It was too much for him to handle. He needed to cool off.

He slammed the door when he left, leaving Bobby motionless and Grace confused.

* * *

A lot of things changed on that Monday. First of all, it was the first official day of Jerry and Grace being together, but being hesitant whether showing it off or not, due to their awkward talk that had happened last night. He waited for her outside after each and every single dancing class she had and held her hand all the way to the next one. They were the "it" couple within a few hours, the lovebirds that was on everyone's gossip meter.

The biggest change of all was made at lunch, when the Latino and his music mixing best friend moved their chairs and came to sit with Kim, Grace, Julie, Milton and Eddie, immediately fitting in with them. They were all the same but had no idea whatsoever. It was actually kind of fun having them around to converse with.

It wasn't only Jerry and Grace who were the names spoken upon many lips at the school, but everybody saw something quite weird going on between the DJ and the contemporary dancer. It's just the way they were always together and how when they were, they were always laughing which caused numerous rumors to circulate. Some of them being about them _finally_ being together and even another about them hooking up at the party that was thrown a while ago.

But these were just rumors after all.

Rumors that set Donna's plan to get her man right back into motion.

She'd had it all thought out already, and thought about the plan that she had in mind all day, one that she had discussed with Claire all too many times. Scheming always excited her, and it really improved her dancing that Tuesday. Joan was giving her compliments and Rudy was saying that her flexibility was almost as good as Kim's.

Even the name irked her. She didn't like the fact that she had just waltzed into the school and taken over the lives of many, including her own. Everybody loved her, thought she was sweet, cool and funny, and the boys certainly liked her a lot when she wasn't really looking. Donna knew she wasn't trying to, but she was trying to shove her out of the way and become the queen of the school. She didn't look like she was trying at all, but she was certainly doing a very good job at whatever she was trying to do.

Donna was on her way to the studio, in her usual hot pants and hoodie over her purple leotard, which she had to say, made her body look awesome. She was skipping lunch for the second time this week to get her showcase solo perfect, even though she hadn't completed it. Hell, she hadn't even finalized which song she was going to perform with, but her best work came out of improvisation. She had used it to get into this school and last year as well. She can do it again.

When she got to the third studio, the one she had clearly booked, she saw there was somebody already practicing inside, also performing a ballet piece. She recognized the long and silky brown high ponytail and the neat figure. It was Grace, her worthy opponent. She's become really good, a little too good for Donna's liking.

The blonde stood aside and watched the girl perform, her posture so precise and her ankles nearly giving up upon her body weight. Donna saw the strain in her face and how difficult it looked for her to dance. Grace was eyeing herself in the mirror, making sure all of the movements were as beautiful as they were supposed to be, not recognizing somebody standing and watching her at the door.

"_I woke up and wished that I was dead,_

_With an aching in my head._

_I lay motionless in bed. _

_I thought of you,_

_And where you've gone,_

_Let the world spin madly on."_

Watching her mane Donna's stomach flutter in the slightest way. Was that jealousy? The dance was beautiful, and she did it very well, but she looked stiff and lifeless, like Donna had before she learnt to let go and stop trying to be perfect. The girl realized that she was gorgeous and that guys loved her anyways so she had nothing to worry about. That was when she received Joan's respect, when she became full of yourself. Nobody should love you more than you, was one of the ballerina's life mottos.

As soon as Grace noticed the girl in the mirror, she tripped but didn't fall. She let the music slowly play and she stood there, staring at Donna before turning around to the stereo and switching the song off. The silence was deafening.

Until Donna broke it. "You're pretty good for a flat foot."

"Thank you," but Grace didn't say it like she meant it. She said it like she was confused or just really offended by the opposite girl's use in pronoun. "Just something I cooked up. I found the music, thought it was pretty and now I'm just messing around." She shrugged and gave Donna a friendly smile. "If you want, the studio's all yours." She was taking steps back, like she was already ready to bolt and avoid any kind of interaction with the blonde haired enemy.

Donna smiled her plastic smile and crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head; taking dangerous steps towards Grace, making her throat go dry and tight. "You're a really good dancer Grace. You would be as good as me if you drops some of the pounds, though."

This made the brunette gulp and her heart jump. She looked down at her leotard, her navy, dorky leotard and how it made her stomach look hideous. She looked down at her fat and wide thighs that made her want to vomit. She's been playing with her food during breakfast and dinner and she'd been dancing a lot, trying to lose some before the showcase. She thought she was becoming better.

And a girl who had the look she was aiming for had just shattered her, told her that in order to be good, she were to be skinny and pretty.

Of course, the girl Grace envied saw her expression change from mildly happy to disappointment in a few seconds. Good. The plan was working. "No offense or anything," she added hastily with the hand gestures. "I'm not trying to offend you at all Grace. You're beautiful. I think so. Jerry must obviously think so since he is really into and sucked your face in front of everybody." Grace's cheeks faded to a reddish kind of color that made Donna giggle before she continued with her cold and rehearsed words.

"But you don't believe it. I can see it by the way you look at yourself in the mirror. You don't believe you're a good dancer because Joan told you so, so now you aren't. You believe you'll never be skinny or pretty enough because Joan said you can dance and dancers are skinny and pretty. And now you're trying to skip lunch so that you can dance and not eat." The expression on Grace's face was priceless. She looked like a deer caught by headlights, and judging by the shaking of her shoulders, she was panicking and her heart was racing.

The blonde didn't stop there. "I know, honey," Donna said, smirking and putting a feeling hand against her chest. "I've been there. I know how much you'd like to eat. And you can have all the food that you want, all the food that any girl could want and you can still be model thin."

Grace's eyes brightened but she still looked like she was a scared little pigeon. Donna wanted to laugh out loud. "How?" the brunette asked.

Donna looked around once and simply showed Grace two fingers, the middle and the index and Grace could feel her heart sinking into the pits of her stomach. "It's not as bad as they tell you honey. I did it last year for the showcase and nobody noticed and I stopped right away so nobody did. It's the easy way to get yourself fit and trim for Joan's eyes and for the eyes of many others."

"And Jack didn't notice?" Grace said, after debating quickly in her head whether she was to ask this question. "If you don't mind me asking, of course. Surely, making out with your boyfriend and things would be kind of … I don't know, awkward."

The ballerina scoffed. "That's why when you go into this business, you have to invest in five packets per week of breath mints and put them in five at a time. And boom. The body that you want, the body that you need. You won't need to stress anymore and Joan will fall in love with you."

She knew she shouldn't even be thinking about considering it because she'd heard all the stories and seen some of the effects and how people with a bulimic disorder end up. But if she just did it for a little while, it wouldn't mean that she's crazy, right? She could just be trying to get skinnier for the showcase and then she could stop and all the purging would end. She thought about how it would effect her insides and how the vomiting would be disgusting and how maybe somebody would notice due to the smell of her breath or the dirty toilet seat.

But then she thought about how much thinner she'd be and how she could finally be perfect and dance really well. She thought that Jerry would like her more and she would be easier to carry with a little waist and thin long legs. Her stomach gurgled because she was hungry and her mind switched the feeling off immediately. It would have to learn to switch the guilty and the damage off. That's what got people to noticed – when you changed all of a sudden.

She didn't say anything to Donna before heading back to the changing room. She just smiled and was left with the demons in her thoughts, slowly eating her up into nothing second by second.

The week had barely begun and right now she wanted it to just end.

* * *

Whenever he just picked up the instrument, Jack could already feel the tingles of delight that he always got when he was playing the guitar. He was pretty amazed by how good he'd gotten over the decade, starting to play at a very fresh age leading up to now. He could move his fingers the way most guitarists didn't know how to, he could do things fast and slow.

It wasn't all about to the skill, of course. The brunet also loved playing and creating music on his instrument, whether it was easy or not. It was what got him mixing in the first place, his love for music. He loved how the strums echoed and how a single strung picked could provide such beautiful sounds. The most beautiful thing of all would have to be the magic of strumming and picking altogether.

He'd been at this for years. Mixing was something that he'd picked up a few years ago, way after his interest in guitar blossomed. Even if he'd been playing guitar longer, he didn't know what brought him more serenity: mixing music and creating beats or creating melodies and harmonies. It would be like choosing a favorite child.

Jack couldn't play with other people around, unless it was, you know, Jerry. When he was DJ Jack, he was somebody else. When he was Guitar Jack, he was himself. He was honest. He didn't want to be honest with many people because they'd use his honesty against him. So he played alone. Now was the perfect time because Jerry was out (he couldn't care less whether it was with Grace or not) and nobody would stop to listen because they were all hanging with friends.

He grabbed his capo from the bedside table and placed it on the sixth fret of the guitar. Then he sat and his thought. Jack knew he was done thinking when his fingers started moving and his everything was cleared from his mind. He just thought about getting the music right and how beautiful it sounded when he was. Jack had heard the song a few days ago on the radio but didn't know the name of it. He just figured it out and hasn't been able to stop playing it since.

The calmness was interrupted when there was a knock on the door, making Jack stop playing quite abruptly. He gulped and looked at the clock on his bedside table and came to a sudden realization after the voice behind the door spoke.

"Jack, I'm here. You better let me in quickly before somebody sees I'm here. I could get into a lot of trouble for this."

His date with Kim.

Not a _date_ date, like an appointment.

After he finally realized he'd been quiet for entirely too long, he stuttered, "Jus-just give me a second."

He sprung up from his bed and started to quickly clean his room. He first put his guitar back in its case, moving onto the dirty clothes on the floor and kicking them all into his bathroom. He quickly flattened Jerry's duvet, silently cursing him for not doing it this morning and shoving his dirty things under his bed. He closed all of the drawers and stuffed everything inside of them so they didn't look too untidy and he fixed up his mixing equipment as if it were organized and not a complete mess. The tangled cords of things kind of cancelled out that quest though.

He looked at himself in the mirror, pulling a finger through his hair and making sure there were no stains to be found on his shirt. Jack also made sure the shoelaces to his Vans were tucked in and not showing. Only idiots let their laces show when they were wearing Vans. He didn't want to look like an idiot.

Then he thought he was an idiot for caring. She'd been in here before and saw him already today. On Wednesdays he saw her _twice_. He didn't know what his problem was but couldn't dwell on it, because Kim knocked again. He couldn't leave her waiting; somebody would see her and get her punished.

He trotted to the door after smelling himself and thanking the Lord he smelled good. Jack breathed before he opened the door and was greeted by Kim in her stockings with hot pants on top and her baggy shirt, followed by the Uggs on her feet. He also noticed that her hair was in a bun, telling him that she just had ballet. He also noticed how she wasn't wearing make up but she still looked really pretty.

Kim smiled and waved, her backpack on her shoulder. "Hey."

Awkwardly, Jack nodded. "Hi."

He offered out a hand to take her bag, and she thanked him after he let her inside, her eyes being amazed again at how cool his room was. The only difference to the room now was that all the DJ equipment was unpacked, and his desk looked really busy. She saw his iMac, which had a program open with many more complicated things. Kim was really fascinated and a little bit excited to find out what Jack did behind that laptop of his all day long.

She took a seat on his bed and looked around some more while he put her bag down and settled down at the computer, sorting out something quickly before he patted the chair next to his that was Jerry's and smiled. He broke the silence. "All yours."

Naturally, the girl migrated from the bed and to the chair within seconds, watching Jack as he messed around with a few things on the computer, hearing the headphones that were plugged in but lying by the keyboard make a noise.

"And you understand all of that how?" Kim asked, making Jack laugh.

He shrugged while continuing to mess with things. "That's what I thought at first. But if you want to talk French, you have to learn the language first, am I right?"

"How long have you been doing this?" The blonde asked, because she was genuinely curious and not just because she wanted to make small talk. "Seems like you know your way around everything."

Jack thought before he answered. "A few years. I went on a course in New York a few years back and I came back and started to mess around, finding my way around it since we covered the basics. My mom wasn't on board with it at first, because she thinks not all deejays make it and she's afraid for my future and all, but once she saw what I could do, you know, she really got into it as well and doesn't want me to stop doing it."

Kim smiled, noticing how his eyes seemed to light up in this really funny way. He must have really loved his mother then, or maybe the mixing. She didn't know which it was but she knew that something had sparked the light inside of him. "My mom's always been on board with me dancing. I used to hate it, because I was going through a tomboy stage. But I got over it and learned to love it."

"Anything I don't know about you besides the fact that you're an amazing dancer?"

The blonde giggled and Jack smiled. She had such a cute giggle. He watched her for a second as she hid her face in shame before turning back to his program and looking for her song. He remembered naming the file after her. "Not to sound cliché at all, but I write poetry sometimes."

"Sometimes," He chuckled. "What do you write about when you write poetry sometimes?"

"Many different things," Kim said her heart skipping a few beats because of the lie she had just told. "But they're kind of morbid." That part is the truth.

Jack shook his head. "Doesn't matter. You should write me a poem sometime; we can turn it into a song and make lots of money. What do you say?" he raised his eyebrow teasingly and watched Kim laugh at him, satisfied that he'd been able to make her laugh.

"Promise," Kim said.

There was something weird about the way she said it, like she meant it. Maybe she was playing along but who knows. Maybe one day she'd have the courage to show somebody her poems, somebody who wouldn't judge her, and maybe she'd turn it into a song, a hit song. If Carly Rae Jepsen and Rebecca Black could create such horrible songs and have them hit number one of the Billboard chart, why couldn't she?

Maybe she was taking this too seriously.

The boy next to her picked up his red Beats and handed them to her. "Okay, here it is. Be honest. I don't want to give you anything you're not satisfied with. I don't mind taking another route. Trust me. I have the time."

"I'm sure I'll love it," Kim said, putting the big headphones on and adjusting them so they fit her head much better. She looked at the screen and Jack, waiting for something to happen. He fiddled with something before he pressed the space bar, and then he heard the intro of the song begin.

"_Give a little time to me,_

_We'll burn this out. _

_We'll play hide and seek,_

_To turn this around._

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow._

_My, my, my, my, my._

_Oh, give me love. _

_Give me, give me …"_

Jack could hear the bass drop from the loudness from the headphones, but Kim didn't even flinch. Donna always used to flinch but maybe that's partially because she's crazy. It showed which volume she kept her music on. He didn't know why but he found it really attractive that she listened on the same volume he did.

When the first drop had subsided, Jack pressed the pause button and looked at Kim nervously, because he face looked so serious it was scary. Then unexpectedly, the corners of her mouth turned up and her white teeth came into display. She didn't know how else to react. She jumped onto Jack's lap and squeezed the life out of him, the headphones uncomfortably shifting on her head but she didn't care too much. She was just so happy with how the mix had turned out and how it was able to arrive in such a short time.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The blonde squealed continuously into Jack's ear, making him laugh. He'd grown to get used to Kim's hug attacks, since he had received a few already in the time that she had been here. "You don't know how much I love you right now," she said when she pulled back, but the pace of her words slowed down a little bit when she realized the words that had just escaped her mouth.

The way Jack was looking at her wasn't really helping either; like she was the only girl he would ever see.

All of the sudden, the room felt really school and it hit her how it was just them in the room and how her feelings for Jack right now were spiraling out of control. She realized that she liked him, and she liked him a lot and she really wanted to be something more than friends. She wanted to have more times like this with Jack.

And weirdly enough, she wanted to kiss him right now.

Kim could feel her heartbeat pick up a lot and she was starting to panic because Jack's head was leaning forward. She wanted to kiss him. She really wanted to kiss his lips, the lips she'd wanted to kiss for a while now. Oops, she was looking at them. He was looking at hers. Oh no, this isn't supposed to be happening.

She fought the temptation to just finally do it and hopped off of him whilst giggling nervously, her hands becoming really sweaty. Jack realized he made her uncomfortable and reached his hand down the back of his neck nervously, wanting to kick a wall. He could have sworn she was asking for it. Little did he know that she was.

She cleared her throat before she nervously stumbled upon her words. "I shouldn't be doing this, Jack. I'm sorry." She was already backing her way up to the door, stumbling over a few things as she did. They were non-existent things, which meant all of this was happening out of nervousness. "We were just happy and it happened in the moment. This never happened and it won't be brought up again. And I better stop babbling and get going before I eventually trip over something and bye." And just like that, abruptly she fled and she was out of the door. She tried to get out as soon as possible.

Kim closed it behind her and frozen for a second, looking at her hands on the doorknob and leaned against the back of the door, taking a few breaths. Her heart was still beating at the speed of light and her lips were still puckered, like they were waiting for him to kiss them. She bit her bottom one, trying to shove the thoughts out her head.

Then she pinched herself because she thought she was dreaming. When she felt the pain, she figured out this wasn't a dream but indeed reality, a reality where she had almost kissed Jack, who was a DJ, a really good-looking guy with an awesome personality and unfortunately Donna Tobin's ex. What was she doing, canoodling? She didn't come for boys. She came for dancing.

She had to get rid of these feelings she had for Jack, because they would only get her into trouble, not only with Donna but affect the way she dances possibly as well. Nothing could get her off track at this point, nothing. She had to stay in this school.

Even if it meant pushing away the only guy in ages to give her funny butterflies.

* * *

To say the least, dinner was quite awkward. As soon as Jack sat down looking and smelling really good in his uniform without saying a word to the blonde on the other side, everyone knew something was up.

At first, nobody asked any questions and just went with the flow, munching on their rice and chicken and making small talk in the noisy cafeteria. Nobody noticed that Grace had been playing with her food the whole time because by the looks everyone was exchanging, somebody had to come right out and say it.

Eddie wanted to have a go, but then Jack and Kim exchanged looks from each other from each side of the table again and it made him hesitant. Grace was going to say something, but she thought if she opened her mouth, everybody would mysteriously be able to hear her stomach grumble. Jerry, on the other hand, just smiled at them, laughing at their failed attempts to not care about each other.

Eventually, dinner ended without a word being said about them noticing. Jack and Kim didn't say a word to each other and walked off without saying goodnight. The guys and girls just went their separate ways after Grace and Jerry exchanged a goodnight kiss that dragged on for quite a bit. Julie didn't fuss over her boyfriend as much as she should have, because she was distracted by her friend's state.

On the walk back to the dorms, outside in the gardens, they walked in complete silence. They were looking at how green the field looked underneath the night-lights and how the water flying out of the sprinklers looked like millions of shooting stars. It was a beautiful campus, especially at night when the moon was out and bright.

Nobody needed to ask her anything. She was just straight out honest and said what was on her mind before she was asked things that would make her change her mind. There was nobody who seemed to overthink as much as Kim could.

"I like him." Grace and Julie stopped dead on their tracks, which made Kim stop as well because she thought she needed to break it down. "It sounds really weird saying it out loud but yes, I like Jack." She was interrupted.

The squealing started, and the jumping, and the high fives. Grace and Julie were going mad, as if they just found out that they'd won a million dollars, even though Kim was very sure that her admitting that she liked a guy on campus could never live up to that but she guessed she was wrong. They were so excited that it kind of spread to her and made her smile, nearly burst into laughter because they were being so ridiculous.

The brunette took Kim but the shoulders, her slightly narrow lined eyes looking deep into her soul. "Finally, you idiot. Do you know how long we've been waiting to hear you say that?"

"So when are you guys going to seal the deal?" Julie asked.

"Why were you guys being all funny at dinner today?"

"Are you guys secretly together?"

"You guys did anything scandalous? Kimberly, I knew you had it in you!"

"Stop!" Kim held a hand up to stop her friends from their babbling, but that still didn't shut them up completely. They were still giggling. Oh goodness, they were the most girly she'd ever seen them. She was going to have to tell them clearly to avoid questions. "Jack and I aren't together or anything but wekindofalmostkissedearliero n." The last part came out as a mumble that her friends couldn't understand.

Julie raised an eyebrow and tried to rephrase what Kim had said. "You're saying you almost kissed Jack earlier on? Almost as in was about to happen but didn't?" She sounded like she couldn't believe Kim turned down the offer? Who would turn down the offer of making out with a very attractive DJ who wore nice jeans and had really nice hair?

"Idiot!" Grace shrieked, making Kim turn red and look down at her school shoes. "If you like him then why didn't you kiss him? I don't even like him and I would have kissed him! Have you seen how firm his bum is?"

"Forget his bum, have you seen his lips?" Julie added, making Kim laugh a little bit, but she was laughing sadly like she was about to cry. That made her friends frown and Julie automatically lifted up a reassuring hand to Kim's shoulder. "What stopped you?'

Kim put her fingers through her hair and sighed, throwing her head back and closing her eyes. She swore the lump in the back of her throat was going to trigger tears. "I don't know. I'm scared. I'm scared of gaining something and then losing it if things get out of hand."

After everything the blonde had been through, after all the sleepless nights and the crying, she thought that maybe because it happened once it wouldn't happen again. Still. It could happen. Maybe it was a part of God's plan or something, for her to keep on losing people. She couldn't go through that pain again. Kim couldn't bare the feeling of crying every day and night, being depressed twenty four seven because she lost somebody. She'd been through a tough time.

But even if she did, was she supposed to be this afraid?

When her head came back down, she opened her eyes and saw Grace standing in front of her with her hands on her hips. "Oh please." Was what she said, which nearly made Kim gasp. "You are looking really pathetic right now. Jack is crazy about you and I can see from the way he looks at you. I don't know what dude did this to your confidence but Kimmy, the past is the past and it's over. The past only starts effecting you once you let it. Don't and you won't mind the past anymore, simple as. Walking backwards is faster than forwards but forwards you can see where you're going …" she trailed off. "Wait, did I say that right?"

Maybe she wasn't making much sense but Kim knew what she was saying. Maybe she did have a touch time, but that was in the past. And she wouldn't be able to move on unless she let go of it in order to take risks and chances and live her life like she was supposed to.

Then she came up with a spontaneous idea. She was going to find Jack right now and tell him how she felt and that maybe they could be together. She was going to tell him about how he made her feel inside. She didn't want to keep things inside anymore.

Kim smiled a beautiful smile. "You said that just right, Grace Wexler." She turned away from her friends and abruptly started to run back towards the second block, the block where Jack had claimed to spend his hours before lights out. Kim could hear her friends calling behind her, but when they realized where she might be going, they started cheering. Her speed only increased.

Her feet were running as fast as lightening (or the closest she'll ever get) and she found herself inside a dark building, the lights faint and faded, due to the time. She was trotting up the stairs like a mad man, pushing herself to get to the second floor of the building, even though it was really painful because she already had a pain in her hamstring.

While she was marching, she could hear music playing. It sounded like Jack's music because it was electronic. She was going faster and soon she reached the top of the stairs, making her zip to the second studio that had its lights on. The music was getting louder and louder, muffled by the glass. She was only a few steps away from him. Only a few.

She was tired now. Kim held her stomach and let herself catch her breath, doing all the panting she could in order to regain her strength. When she was finally calm, she looked back up at the studio and contemplated on whether she were to go in or not. She decided that she would never go in if she argued with herself so her feet just did it. They walked and were walking closer and closer to the studio.

The door was closed in front of her and when she opened it, she'd enter and confess her true feelings for Jack. She promised herself she would. She counted to three and then opened the door, even though everything inside of her was twisting in knots.

She stopped.

The music turned off.

She didn't expect this, now out of all times when she was on her way to tell Jack all these things that had come into her head, things that were disappearing. She could feel all the organs that had started to twist cave in, and she felt her shoulder slouch and her stomach drop. Her heart rate had skipped a few beats and her knees were ready to take off again.

She didn't expect this.

She didn't expect to see Jack and Donna swapping mints. She had not been mentally prepared for this.

"Sorry," she said before she turned, slamming the door shut behind her and nearly shattering the glass. She didn't care. Kim's tears were choking her in her throat and she wanted to vomit. She wanted to kill somebody just so they could feel as sore as she did. She was afraid of this, because it was at her fingertips and just like that, they were torn away.

Kim was running again, faster than she did before. This time it wasn't only her running. She could her the faint squeaking of shoes behind her, a male voice calling her name and asking her to please stop. She didn't listen because her heart was beating too loud inside her ears.

**…**

"Kim! Just wait a minute."

He didn't know how he screwed up so bad, to be honest. If you told him yesterday he'd be doing something so stupid, he would have never believed it. Jack wasn't that kind of guy; he wasn't a heart breaker.

He was running through the sprinklers, his sneakers were damp from the wet grass, which had been coated by the sprinklers, looking like a thousand flying stars in the darkness of the night. He could see her in her uniform, her swishing blonde hair, the hair that had been driving him crazy over the last few days, running away from him and the world they were stuck in. His legs only began to grow faster, ignoring the sprinkles of water contacting his skin time to time.

When he stopped in front of her now frozen figure, he could feel the denim of his jeans sticking to his skin and could feel himself quickly beginning to grow cold, the sprinklers sending rain upon them and then rain somewhere else. It still seemed like rain. The dreary weather that sent everyone indoors and bright eyed children to the windowsills.

She turned around after she had stood there for a few minutes, collecting her thoughts and then she turned around to face him, to face the face that had disappointed her. She was angry because the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't piss off. Kim was angry because she had these feelings for him she knew she couldn't have. She knew his kind.

He was looking down at her and noticed that there was no running mascara. He was reminded of how she was just naturally pretty.

The words he started off with were, "Would you let me explain?"

Kim didn't want to give him the satisfaction, or win her heart back because everything had gone out of control. Her hormones were failing her. She shouldn't be getting butterflies. She should be getting sore ankles and strained muscles from hard work. Not relationships. But there she was, nodding away at him because she wanted to see what he had to say because there had to be a reason why they guy who had known her better than anybody else here was doing this.

"I need you to listen, okay? From start to finish. I don't want you to interrupt me. Maybe I'll get it right the second time and not chicken out …" he was referring to earlier on, before the almost. The blonde in front of him gave him a look, one he couldn't see because the "rain" came again. But he started talking anyways.

"Donna snuck up on me and she tricked me into thinking that she was hurting and then I don't know, she came onto me. I was surprised so I didn't pull back very quickly. That isn't what the point is. The point is that even though I kissed Donna it didn't matter to me. It mattered that you saw me do it and how awful I feel because it's you I want to kiss, not Donna." Even though she wasn't smiling herself, her eyes were doing all the work for her. She was starting to feel all warm inside, even though the water wasn't helping with that part.

It gave Jack a kind of motivation to continue. "I've liked you ever since you asked me to mix you a song on your first day and wowed everyone. And it's not just because you're really beautiful and you're really cool and sweet and an amazing dancer but because you're real. You're a different kind of real, though. I can see you hiding it behind that smile of yours. But you still listen and you don't judge because you think you have bigger issues. I have a lot of issues, but I feel like I can talk to you about those issues and that's the kind of person I want to be with. Not just somebody that I can love but someone who I can trust and I trust you, Kim. And I like you a lot."

He'd run out of breath by the time he had finally finished, and he was looking down at his wet fists and noticing that his hair was sticking to his face an awful lot. Kim was looking at him funny, like he'd just said the most inspirational words she'd ever heard. Maybe they were.

"I like you too," Kim said and Jack's head came up. "I really do. I wanted to kiss you earlier. I really wanted to kiss you but we can't do this. I need to focus on my dancing and you need to focus on whatever you're doing."

"If you like me so much, why aren't you willing to give it a try?"

"Because I'm a wussy."

Jack chuckled and looked down at her, and she looked up at him. The sprinklers made her face glisten and the moonlight hit her face so perfectly. She looked like a mermaid that had just come out of water. "If you were seeing outside these eyes, you'd be pretty amazed by how beautiful you look right now."

"Jack, don't do this."

"Do what?"

"Make me want to kiss you."

"Is it working?"

Kim looked down before she looked back up at Jack and his beautiful brown eyes. Darn them and how they squashed up her insides. Darn them and how they looked at her like she was the only girl on this planet. Darn them and how they made resisting him ten times more harder than it needed to be.

"Yes," Kim replied, before she took the last step, the step she should have taken this afternoon in Jack's room, when he leaned in.

She wrapped her hands around his neck and closed the gap, standing on her toes and let her lips meet his. He didn't take too long to respond by grabbing her by the waist and pulling her closer to him and kissing her sweeter. The kiss wasn't anything passionate, it was gentle and sweet and cute and the kind that made you feel like you were walking on clouds. The kind that are described in all those rom coms. The kind that are described in all of the romantic novels.

This was it. This was the kiss she was waiting for.

It was perfect because the water seemed like it was sprinkling out of the sky, like rain. And they were standing in the middle of a field that was irrelevant to the school, away from the world and creating their own little one right there, right now. It seemed magical.

It wasn't a fairytale kiss in the rain, but it sure was close.

* * *

**A/N:**

I was planning to end it on a cliffhanger but then I decided not to because I haven't updated in forever and I wanted to give you guys a little treat. As you can see, this chapter was full of Kick, but their rollercoaster is not over yet folks. Still way more to come.

What if all of this was a part of Donna and Claire's evil plan, mwahaha?

As for the beginning part with Jerry in the office and Donna's advice to Grace, well, you'll just have to stay tuned and keep reading to find out the outcome of all that. This story is going to be pretty hectic. I wanted to get twists of real life in it, so it doesn't seem too fiction, and I don't want the story revolving around Kick as well. It is Kick but then … you know what I mean.

This isn't my best chapter but that's okay. The next is going to be even better! Finally, you are all going to see our Jack baby dance, okay? I just spoiled it but oh well, if it keeps you reading. ;) enough about next chapter, please review and tell me your thoughts on this one. I know about the errors and things okay, though? I don't read through my stuff because I always write these at night and I want to go to sleep.

And yes, I have to sleep now. Will reply to PM's in the morning because I see I have a few but this is my mom's computer so ... er.

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


	7. Beautiful Beats

**A/N:**

As usual, I just want to thank you guys for your amazing reviews and favorites and follows, but I think most of all, your patience, because my updates aren't the most frequent in the world. I have a valid excuse this time though. I was on camp for a week or so with my grade, so of course, I couldn't write or anything because electronics weren't allowed and I only returned home on Wednesday. But don't worry; as soon as I got home I went to work!

I struggled getting this chapter started. Seriously. I wrote everything on separate documents and I freaking mashed everything up together into one document at the end and didn't look through it because then I would have had the urge to change something. I really have this OCD thing going on when writing. Everything needs to be detailed because too much dialogue looks weird, the paragraph is too small, and the ending is too abrupt. Whoa, they should have mental hospitals for amateur authors who are fussy about their writing.

Let me shut up. Look at me babbling whilst keeping things away from you guys. I should shut up and let you just read. Enjoy the chapter, lovelies!

Warning: Well, in this chapter, somebody drops an F-Bomb. Just saying because some people find it really offensive, even thought the rating for this story is T. Okay, that's all.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kickin' It or the songs mentioned in this chapter, yeah.

* * *

**::**

**7**

**Beautiful Beats**

**::**

* * *

"I don't know how you find happiness in watching them suck each other's faces off."

Donna was worried about her red haired friend. She was sitting on her bed in her dorm room, reading the latest issue of Vogue while Claire watched out the window, watching Kim and Jack share their romantic kiss under the sprinklers that had lasted a very long time. She was proud of how the plan was taking shape and how everything they expected to happen, happened.

Donna felt a tinge of hurt and jealousy in the pits of her stomach, but she knew that this is what had to happen. In order to get her Jack back, these were the sacrifices she had to make.

"Don't worry, Donna," Claire said, closing her curtains and sighing, taking a seat next to her best friend, both of them in Snoopy pajamas. "They won't last long. We just need Jack to get really close to her and twist his vision of her. It's good he has the past that he does, because that's his weak point. That's what's going to get him to crack and mixing Kim into the plot, it shall send him sprinting right back into your direction, sweetie."

The blonde girl shrugged, her face starting to frown. She wasn't really into this plan anymore, but she wanted Jack back, she needed Jack back. "I don't know if bringing his past into the whole plan is going to work. I don't want to see him hurt."

Claire's face turned cold. "Do you think he cared when you felt hurt?"

Her friend was silent.

"Do you think he would he cared enough to find out the truth to why you jetted off so abruptly to the Bahamas so abruptly? He didn't try and search for the truth. He just assumed things. So you're not only getting him back, you're giving him a taste of his own medicine." Claire saw that her words had changed Donna's ways of thinking.

She thought it was okay for her to throw it all back at him. She had been hurt. Now it's his turn?

_Hasn't he been through enough?_

He trusted her with the truth about how he had ended up in this place, why he quit dancing when he did and the truth about how the universe had caused him and his best friend Jerry to collide. Jack had trusted her with all this baggage, and now she was going to use it all against him? It didn't seem like the way to go. It isn't right.

But that voice in Donna's head was switched off, and will be until she got her guy back.

"You're right," Donna said, her nose sticking in the air nice and tall. "But I guess there were some pros in having him land up in her arms tonight. I got to kiss him again. Sure didn't take too long to convince him, I mean, who can resist all of this?"

She could feel the old Donna starting to creep back in, the Donna that dominated these hallowed halls before Jack, before anybody knew what was underneath. She felt some kind of power. And to be honest, it felt good.

* * *

Everybody could just about hear his sneakers squeaking in the hallway as he was stomping loudly to find a girl, more specifically, his girlfriend. Jerry wasn't a smart person, but he knew something was up, and there was only one other person that could know what was going on, because right now, he was dead confused. After all, his best friend and Kim probably were together last night. Grace had sent him a text before bed how Kim was going to finally confess her undying love for him.

What puzzled him was that the fact that they were together last night brought Jack back in a really grumpy state. He had come back after lights out, which meant they must have been somewhere where they weren't going to be caught, even by the security. And when he'd come back to the dorm, he wouldn't even speak to Jerry. He just grumbled and dived beneath his bed covers, begging not to be disturbed with questioned.

Even if something went wrong, why would be puzzled? Didn't he like Kim? And maybe if he discovered he didn't wouldn't Kim be the one upset and not his friend? In order to really decide, though, he wanted to see Kim's current state – thus Grace coming into the whole plan. Who knew? Maybe she knew exactly what happened.

He was dodging all of the dancers in the hallways, people scowling at him for running to fast and bumping into him, even after he apologized. He finally found the long brunette ponytail in the ballet studio, getting the water bottle she had left. She was surprised to see Jerry, because the breakfast bell hadn't even rung yet and he was already desperate to see her? She was in her uniform, looking neat and pretty, making Jerry's heart skip a few beats as always, but maybe that was because he'd ran really fast.

"Hey, Jer," she said, a smile starting to grow on her face, but then it faded away because she could read what her boyfriend was thinking. "Oh my goodness, I think I know what you're so desperate to see me for this morning."

Jerry was running towards her and jumped right in front of Grace, taking her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. She looked a wee bit intimidated but she got over it as soon as Jerry's features softened. "So you know what I'm talking about. Okay, then what's going on?"

"I don't know," Grace said, her eyes beginning to look a bit worried and sad. "I tried to kick it out of her Jerry, I really did but she wouldn't tell me. She came back to the dorm basically in tears and Julie woke me up and told me to get my butt there and even Donna was concerned because she was going insane. But she kept quiet and said that everything was fine and that we shouldn't worry."

"So no hints whatsoever?"

"She doesn't feel like seeing Jack. She said that she couldn't face him today. Now she's skipping breakfast and eating vending machine food back at the dorms. I was going to go feast with her, I was on my way to tell you but you got me first."

The Latino sighed, taking Grace's cheek with his hands before groaning and throwing his head back in distress. "Jack's the exact same. He wouldn't tell me anything and I want to try and help but I don't know what's going on." Jerry really wasn't one to look for gossip and all of that, but this was his best friend. Jack was basically his brother, brother from another mother. He couldn't stand to see him go through this again.

It's been a long time since he'd seen him as depressive as he was last night, which made him rethink his opinion on Kim. Sure. He really hated his previous girlfriend, psycho Donna with the really nice long legs and the perfect face, but he had never made Jack that upset, so upset that he wouldn't talk to anybody, not even when they broke up. What did Kim do that had gotten him so upset? Kim was a nice girl. There had to be some kind of catch to all of this.

Grace just shrugged. "I'm sorry that I don't know, but at the end of the day, maybe it's better we find out when we do, and trust me, we will eventually. Just wait it out. I'm sure they're going to sort things out on their own anyways." The brunette was hoping for that, anyways. She hadn't known Kim for very long, but the girl surely knew how to hold grudge. She was mad at her for a day for not bringing her back chocolate after she took a trip into town.

But then maybe she was right. All the situation needed was some cooling off and all everybody needed to do was just stay out of it and not worry about anything. The world would get Kim and Jack to sort themselves out by themselves.

* * *

_One, two, three, four. Stretch it out, seven, and eight. _

_One, two, three, four, five – _

"Shit."

The girl with the blonde hair, the brown eyes and the perky personality cursed underneath her breathe after messing up her move, stopping for a second to just relax and take in deep breaths. Kim pulled her fingers violently through her hair, throwing her head back and groaning in frustration. She looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was eight o'clock. She'd been going at this since dinner an hour ago. Why wasn't she getting it right? She had to ace this assignment Rudy had given them.

Contemporary was her strong point. Even on the darkest of days, she was able to do her best because dancing was her escape, her way of getting away from real life and just moving to a different song in a different world.

But she was distracted tonight. Her normally peaceful world wasn't anymore and all of a sudden, she couldn't concentrate. Her legs were moving differently. Her arms were shaking. Her breaths were uneven. She was stumbling. Everything was going wrong. It was because she was nervous, afraid of last night. Kim had been able to avoid him today but tomorrow, he's mixing again and she's going to see him. It made her stomach twist.

Kim decided to take a little break, staring at her reflection reach for her pink water bottle on the floor and take a sip from it. She eyed at her attire, her hot pants and her purple tank top, her spastic hair in a ponytail, since it had not been agreeing with her this morning. Nothing had been agreeing with her lately.

Just as she was thinking about him and how upset he was last night, there he was, standing in the doorway and looking at her. He liked creeping up on her, especially while she was trying to dance. The way he was looking at her wasn't helping either.

Every girl at this academy dreamed of having the one and only Jack Brewer looking them up and down and all around as they took a swig out of a water bottle. It only made Kim more nervous because of what had happened the night before. She liked him. He liked her. But it was all too complicated and she told him that – and now look what happened.

He walked in, his steps light. His jeans looked really nice at the moment, and his eyes were seeping into her soul. Kim could feel it slowly being pulled away from her body. He smirked and her heart flipped around, and so did her body. "What are you having a problem with? I can see you're really struggling."

"It's you, you idiot!" Kim wanted to shout at him, to jump on him and to beat him up for disorganizing her dancing technique. But she didn't want to sound desperate or weak. This shouldn't be affected her. He shouldn't be affecting her. "I'm having trouble moving, really. I'm just feeling a little bit distressed and I'm struggling to escape." It wasn't the whole truth but there you go.

Jack nodded and looked down at his feet for a moment, taking in a few breaths. He looked like he wanted to say something but he didn't. Instead, he started pulling his grey hoodie over his head, his black top underneath – which made Kim's stomach twist even more when his stomach flashed a little … his really nice stomach – coming into show. He threw the hoodie aside and sighed again.

She looked at him cautiously. "What do you think you're doing?" Kim asked him incredulously, folding her arms and settling down on a hip.

The brunet in front of her took a step forward, too forward and placed a finger upon her lips. Kim sucked in breath and made sure not to breathe at all, otherwise she would explode. "I made you a promise. And now I'm going to go through with it because I can really see that you're struggling to escape and whatnot. I want to help you, but as a totally platonic friend, like you said, okay? Nothing more than that."

_Platonic friend._ Just what Kim needed to hear, wasn't it? But she nodded because it would be rude not to. "What do you know about dance, anyway, Brewer?"

"More than you think." He twisted her around to face the mirror again, and she saw his big hands on her shoulders, watching them slightly rise and fall with her breathing. His hands started travelling down to her collarbones, making her breaths hitch a little bit.

"Close your eyes and just breath," he instructed her, his breath tickling her neck and scaring her because she realized how close he actually was right now.

But she obeyed him. When she closed her eyes, she focused on her breathing and not how good Jack's hands felt massaging her shoulders and near her collarbone, trying to calm her down. Whatever he was doing, it was working because she felt a lot calmer and less distressed. She smiled before opening her eyes and seeing a broad grin on Jack's face as well in the glass before her. He was satisfied that he had been able to calm her down somewhat.

"Feeling better?" He whispered into her ear, sending these weird shivers down Kim's spine, nearly making her go red in the face because he saw her shoulders shake, or rather felt, since his hands had slid down to her biceps.

She kept a stern and professional face, smiling only slightly. "Yes. Thank you." But she didn't know how him calming her down was going to get her dancing properly again. It would be even more distracting if he were right there to watch her go through it again and possibly mess up. "Is that the wisdom that you were bragging about? Because anybody could just walk up in here and massage me." She was purposefully being difficult.

There was short silence, a silent in which she saw and felt Jack coming closer to her. She sharply took in her breath and kept her arms dead at her sides, making sure not to move. She could hear his breathing now, the slow tempo in which he did. She could feel it too on her neck. He was getting closer and closer.

For a miniscule second, Kim thought that she was going to get raped or something but then as soon as the thought came, she kicked it out because Jack isn't like that and she shouldn't be thinking that way because rape was pretty serious.

"But not just anybody makes you feel the way I do," he whispered into her ear and she nearly jumped right out of her skin.

Why was he being so … seductive? He'd even said so himself. They were just friends and nothing more, or that's at least what she thought they agreed on. Maybe Jack had different ideas.

_Then why are you letting him do this to you, Kim?_ A voice in her head asked her, a voice that sounded much like her own. And she knew why she was letting him do this to her, making her feel this way, taking her attention away from dancing.

She wanted him to.

But the real question why? Why all of a sudden was somebody drawing her attention away from the one thing she loved doing most? But as much as she would have loved to have an answer for herself, she didn't.

All of a sudden, Jack's hands were off of Kim and his feet were taking him across the studio, getting the remote from on top of the stereo. "What are you doing?" Kim asked but he kept on going, looking for a song to play in the many CDs he had in his hands. He finally decided to insert a random one in, not answering Kim's question until the CD was in the stereo and loading.

"I'm going to help you let go," Jack shrugged, coming towards her with the black remote in his hands, the blue buttons glowing. His face was blank, so blank that it actually started to concern Kim. "Plus, I made a promise, both to you and myself – a promise that I'm going to keep. You may think you're the only one letting go but trust me, I am too."

She remembered. He'd said so that other day in the studio, when they had declared their relationship status as friends, the day she had got to know him better. Kim didn't question him; she just stood in front of the mirror, waiting for the song to start up as Jack put the remote down after pressing the play button.

The silence between them now was deafening, but she didn't show how much she hated it. She just let Jack slip behind her and put hand around her waist, the gap between them non-existent. He seemed hesitant about it, but soon became comfortable with the fact that he was doing this again, something he had left behind a long time ago. He hadn't done this in forever and it felt good, it really did. But it also felt wrong and rebellious, like he wasn't supposed to be doing it at all.

He wanted to break down the walls and breathe, even if it was just for a little bit. He wanted to see the world that he'd left behind so long ago and remember why it meant so much to him.

"It's just you and me, Kim," Jack said softly, looking down at his fingers slowly travel to Kim's own, her little fingers closing around his as soon he reached hers. Kim could feel his heartbeat on her back, and how it was beating just as fast as hers was. She turned her head to look at him, but he was already looking down at her.

"Just forget about last night, forget about the showcase, forget about anything else because it's just you and me."

_It's just you and me._

Then when the music started, the world around them faded and the only other person she could see was Jack, him and his huge arms that made her feel so safe. Those eyes that looked at her so intently and made her knees cave in. Just his overall presence soothed her nerves, and all her worries were gone.

She remembered about what Mrs. Martinez had said about improvisation with another, and how you were supposed to feel it and deliver an emotion to your audience and make it all look believable. And she did that with Jerry, she was able to feel his motions move with hers. The only difference with Jack was that when she saw both their arms rise into the air as the music started, she knew she wasn't making anything look believable. Everything she was about to do with her body with Jack's was real.

Jack's own guided her hand back to her forehead, her head looking up at him once again, before her body started to move majestically as the lyrics started up.

"_I've been out on that open road._

_You can be my full time, daddy, _

_White and gold. _

_Singing blues has been getting old._

_You can be my full time baby, hot or cold."_

All of the things that had been bothering her at the beginning had disappeared, and her concentration wasn't forced. It was modest as it always was, and she just got lost likes he always did. When she fell back into Jack's arms and he held her, letting her right foot drag across the floor as he took a few steps backward, she realized that she had forgotten about the things he had told her to.

"_Don't break me down._

_I've been travelling too long._

_I've been trying too hard,_

_With one pretty song."_

_One, two, three, four._

_Release, swing, hold._

_One, two, three, four._

_Hold. Jump._

"_I hear the birds on the summer breeze, I drive fast._

_I am alone in the night._

_Been trying hard not to get into trouble,_

_But I have got a war in my mind."_

Kim was holding onto Jack for dear life, her legs around his hips and her arms around his shoulders, and he slowly settled her back down onto the ground, their foreheads forever keeping contact. She broke free from his grasp, jumping up to escape and shouldered her leg, letting the brunet behind currently behind her. What made all the movements so amazing is that they were frequent and they never stopped for once minute.

They just moved together.

"_So I just ride."_

Then there was a moment between them, a moment that just seemed to say everything that their words couldn't, a moment that made last night just another memory to pack away. When she was back in his arms, he lowered her body down, her back arching to make the move look more flexible. When she came back up, it hit her all at once, and there they were.

"_Just ride."_

They weren't dancing anymore. They were just looking at each other, remembering all the words that had been exchanged last night.

"I'm afraid of getting close to people," she had said.

"I won't hurt you," he had promised.

"But sometimes you can't control who you hurt," she had said. "I like you, but you've got to trust me. We can't take things any further than what we already are."

"Then why can't it be that simple?" He had become frustrated. "I like you. You like me. And you just kissed me and it was great. Why can't we be together?"

"I need to focus on dance for a little bit," she had said. "And there's a lot going on and I just need a friend right now. I just need you right now, but in a totally platonic way."

"Okay," he had said.

"I'm not going to ask you to wait for me," she had said.

"Okay," he had said … again.

"Just friends?"

"Just friends. I trust you."

"_I just ride."_

But those words didn't matter to her to her anymore. She couldn't have all these feelings for somebody and not do anything about it. She wanted to be with Jack. She wanted Jack to make her feel as safe as he was making her feel right now every day. She wanted to be the reason for why he smiled. She wanted all the cheesy nicknames and the cheesy moments. Kim wanted Jack to be hers and had for a long time.

Maybe all it took to finally just take a step forward was to feel him move with her, move like he did with nobody else and move like he hasn't moved in a long time.

"_I just ride."_

The music was starting to fade, and the reality around Kim began to reappear, reminding her that this was real life. A reality that she wanted to turn around. She didn't know what it was that gave her the courage to do. Maybe she just felt like it because of how close together their faces were and how he was looking at her lips. It didn't matter.

She just leaned in and kissed him, her mouth covering his. It felt almost better than the kiss from last night, a little bit more passionate. It also seemed a little more realistic. Jack started kissing her back almost instantly, bringing her body back up and taking her by the hips and pressing her closer to his body, his lips never leaving hers. Kim naturally kept him close by holding him around the shoulders, being sure to always pull him back when he pulled away.

When he finally did after a few minutes, Jack took a breather, looking at Kim as she just looked back up at him. He didn't know what to think. He was so confused. It was like he had just been taken onto a roller coaster with way too many twists and turns, and he's debating whether it's worth the second ride to try and enjoy it once again. He honestly didn't know what had brought Kim to be so spontaneous, but he didn't like being screwed around with.

Although, maybe Jack made the mistake of coming in here and trying to sort out them not talking to each other. He should have just kept quiet, like she had.

Jack started taking a few steps back, his arms leaving Kim's petite body while he shook his head. Kim knew that maybe her taking the first step forward wasn't the smartest thing in the world but she was going to fix it. She said something when Jack started putting his hoodie back on, a scowl on his features.

"Jack, what are you doing?" She knew exactly what he was doing. He was leaving, doing exactly what she had feared.

"I can't do this Kim," he said after his hoodie was over his head and settled onto his body. "I shouldn't be wasting my time having to think about where I stand with you because you're giving me mixed signals. I try to kiss you but then you run away and so it's not what you want. When I kiss Donna, you get jealous and throw a fit, tell me you like me, kiss me, tell we should just be friends after all and then you don't speak to me. And now when I try and fix things and try and turn things back to how they were and help you, you kiss me again, and I bet you're going to tell me that you were caught up in the moment or something. I'm confused."

When he put it that way, it did sound awfully confusing. But he didn't let Kim speak. He had come there to do the speaking. He continued. "I didn't think you were the type because you convince everybody around you that you're this sweet small town girl with big dreams of becoming a dancer. But now I've figured it out. Having any sort of attraction to you just brings trouble and I don't need that in my life right now!"

Kim thought he had it all wrong, and no way was he allowed to raise his voice at her after she told him why she couldn't be with him. "I told you that I have withdrawal issues …"

"Yeah, sure you did," Jack snapped back, not letting her finish. "But if your issues are as big as you claim them to be, if you're so fucking afraid then why'd you kiss me again, after you were the one who demanded for us to be _just friends_?"

"I thought it was the right thing, okay! I didn't want to drag you in without being sure!"

"And now you're sure? Are you sure that you like me to look past those issues?"

No response.

"That's it." Jack was about to turn around and go, but when Kim saw his back, she panicked and then she thought maybe it was time she told somebody a little bit of the truth. Keeping it all bubbled up inside of herself wasn't doing anybody good, especially herself.

"Let me explain, please!" She shouted after him, stopping his humongous stomps from carrying him out of the door. He froze for a minute and then he decided to turn around to look at her. He kicked himself mentally because even when she was looking all bitchy and distressed, combing her fingers through her golden locks, she still managed to look beautiful. Kim inhaled sharply before she explained.

"I lost somebody a few years ago. Someone who was really close to me. I haven't gotten over it because it was all my fault. It still haunts me every night before I go to sleep. So I've promised that myself I wouldn't become too attached to people because sooner or later, they leave. But then I met you, and heard you mix and play guitar and you just mixed everything up. I nearly changed my mind last night, but feeling the hurt when I saw you with Donna … and then you come back and you apologize and you make me feel safe and share something you don't share with everyone – not even Donna.

"So I changed my mind again, deciding to let it all go and just move forward with my life. I was just about to tell you how much I want us to actually be something more than just music buddies and that I think I'm ready. But then you were leaving. You got ready to just leave without me trying to explain myself, and messed up everything and now I'm confused all over again."

There was a silence one again, but this one seemed dangerous. Like talking in the middle of it would cut your skin right open. Kim looked hopelessly at Jack, praying that the moisture she felt on her right cheek wasn't a tear because tears showed weakness. He just stared back at her with cold chocolate brown eyes, and shrugged.

"Is that all you're going to do?" Kim choked out, her voice coming out just as cold as Jack's eyes. "Just shrug it off? Just shrug off a piece of my past that I hardly share with anybody else?"

"What am I supposed to do, Kim?"

"I don't know! Saying something wouldn't be so bad!"

"You want me to say something now?"

"I'm done explaining."

"Well, then that means I'm done guessing."

"Jack."

The brunet sighed and started taking a few steps back ward, making Kim panic again. There was nothing left for her to do this time. It was all up to him, what he wanted to do or say. She'd realized the damage of her mental confusion had already been done. And now he was going to leave.

But before he turned around to go, like he had originally planned, he said something that made the blonde think. "You don't choose how the beats in a song move, but you choose whether you want to dance to it or stop the music. The beats before don't matter. All that matters is the beautiful beats you turn them into."

And then he left.

Leaving Kim to deal with all the monsters in her mind.

* * *

**A/N:**

I know the ending is abrupt and the chapter seems a bit rushed and short, but not everything has to be long and extremely detailed. Sometimes it becomes really tiring to read, as well as write. But I really was blocked at how to continue this chapter without, I don't know, revealing everything that was going to happen in the end chapter. If I made the long, the next chapter would have been really short so I think it's better I make this a little short and then I'll deliver a nice long chapter possibly tomorrow or the next day. I have a lot of time on my hands now that it's holidays, yes!

I just really like having Jack and Kim argue, I don't know what's wrong with me. It makes everything so saucy! And Jack danced, and stay tuned because he's going to be doing it again soon and he is going to go all hood homie! And a few secrets are going to be exposed next chapter, which I'm looking forward to, because I've been having it planned out since I freaking started this story.

Please review and tell me what you think! You guys really motivate me to write on when you review and I love hearing your feedback and criticism even. Don't forget to follow if you like what you see and favorite if you already are ;) Okay. Maybe I should just shut up because I know I don't really like it when people wink when persuading to review and stuff.

One of the many things wrong with me.

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


	8. The Truth: Part I

**A/N:**

I've had a major writer's block and I didn't know what to do. I knew what I wanted to write but all the words came out wrong and I would literally groan out loud in such frustration and beat things because I couldn't write what I wanted to write and it was so annoying. But because I'm going somewhere on holiday for the weekend tomorrow, I forced myself to write a chapter so I hope it's good enough to please the fancies of all of you.

Anyhoo, now that I've got that part covered, I would like to thank you guys all again for your lovely reviews and your motivation. They helped me write this chapter more than anything, knowing that people genuinely enjoy this story and how they want to read it. I couldn't thank you guys enough, really. :')

Well, it's not anything fancy but there you have it, chapter eight … finally. This chapter is one of three parts, parts that are going to play a main role in this story, like a major climax or so to say. I don't know if I'm telling you properly but okay. I'm done so you can continue now.

**Disclaimer: **I wouldn't be writing if I di- I'm not even going to waste my breath bye.

* * *

**::**

**8**

**The Truth: Part I**

**::**

* * *

The music, The XX's _Intro,_ started blasting through the stereo speakers; the introduction to the song starting up as every body took their places in the front of the mirrors with their backs turned. In front of the group of dancing students was standing Jerry, who was not a part of their group but offered to help them out with their pieces for the showcase. He looked like he was really concentrating because he was, even though the dance had barely even started.

When the bass of the song started up, the group of dancers began their piece, which was a mix of popping and locking around the chest, with their arms and legs. It looked all so synchronized, so precise. It looked even sicker with everybody dressed in black with black and white checkered scarfs hanging around her hips, their faces not showing any emotion whatsoever. It's like they a cross between mimes and robots, which was basically the point.

It was at that point, by the second minute of the instrumental that Jerry started smiling. It was wiped right off his face however when somebody in the back of the group tripped, causing a domino effect, the one next to her tripping, screwing up the whole synchronization. When everybody stopped to turn and see who had screwed up, Jerry was able to see that it was his best blonde friend, Kim. She looked distressed but at the same time relieved, like she wanted to stop dancing and just breath.

The Latino was forced to stand up and stop the music, everybody groaning and sighing when the silence started to hover across the studio. Kim apologized to everybody, pulling her fingers stressfully through her golden locks whilst looking at her reflection, somebody in the group randomly announcing a five-minute break. That was just what she needed right now. She just needed to breathe.

She knew that she was messing up, and she knew that was dangerous right now, three weeks before the showcase. It just dawned upon her at that very moment how she needed to get her act together and leave behind whatever was bothering her, even though she knew very well what, or rather _who_ it was. Everyone knew who it was with all the rumors circulating – but they couldn't be called rumors if they were true.

It was Julie and Milton who came forward and tried to comfort their friend, seeing that all this stress was hitting her like a ton of bricks at the moment. It wasn't the first time they had witnessed her messing up. Julie and Kim were in the same tap and jazz group and she wasn't dancing with the energy she normally danced with. Not that their last hip hop practice had been successful either, due to her weak leg movements and Ricky always telling her off when he realized.

Julie patted Kim on the shoulder and wrapped her arms around her neck, squeezing her so hard that the blonde had not been able to breathe for a few seconds. Kim patted Julie's arm and said, "I want you to at least know that I'm trying. I'm trying so hard to not mess up. As soon as I get the feel of it, I just do something and mess everything up for everyone and then Ricky shouts at me."

Milton shook his head and his girlfriend pouted, patting Kim's face and making her cringe slightly. Milton sighed, folding his arms. "Don't sweat it, Kim. Ricky's constantly a jerk. He's like that towards everyone and you've been around long enough to know so." She knew so. Ricky wasn't the nicest person in the world, but he still somehow managed to gain female attention, which baffled everybody else.

"I know," Kim said sadly. She just felt the need to beat up herself because she was the one who seemed to mess everything up. It wasn't Ricky's fault that she was dancing the way she was anyways so she couldn't push the blame on him. If anything, he was trying to improve her in her time of darkness, the darkness she had brought upon herself. "I've just been having a really bad week. Hopefully the weekend will just smooth everything out and I'll be back to normal by Monday."

She made a mental plan right there in her head, to relax the rest of the day, have her Friday dinner in her dorms with her girls who are hopefully willing to accompany her or at least help her sneak in food, since the academy wasn't a big fan of eating anywhere else besides the building that was built especially for dining. She wasn't going to practice tomorrow, at all, or the day after that. And maybe on Monday, after all the resting, she'll be good to go – or she was hoping.

The girl was about to settle to plan with her friend but something stopped her. In the mirror, Kim saw somebody behind the trio and turned around, causing Julie to have a change in position as well. Jerry was standing there, a sad smile on his face and his hands shoved into the pockets of his tracksuit pants and his defined biceps well on show in the shirt that he was wearing. If Grace were here, she'd probably drop dead.

"Hey guys," he said politely, not really sounding like himself.

"Hey," Julie, Milton and Kim chorused together, Milton putting a hand around his girlfriend's waist, but not protectively, like he feared something. He knew from the look in Jerry's eyes that it was the couple's queue to leave.

Jerry cleared his throat. "Uh, can I have a chat with the blonde chicka alone?" Kim watched as her two friends nodded and slowly walked off, hand in hand and talking about something other than how her life was spiraling downhill hopefully. There was a silence between the two of them, because they both knew what this was about, or rather _who_. "Well, I can tell he's a little bit bothered that he's the reason that you haven't been dancing as well as you do lately, but he thinks that maybe being off the trail would help you out a little bit."

By he, they meant Jack of course. The music mixing teenager had been on a week break coincidentally due to his exams, so the two hadn't ran into each other at all this week, not that they would have if he was still mixing music in the studio as per normal. He'd done a great job at dodging her during breakfast, lunch and dinner by choosing to eat in his exam venue with Jerry and not at her table. Kim knew that it was her fault; she didn't need Jack saying anything because the signs were all clear. And as much as she wanted to be angry with him and have the urge to snap him into two, she didn't.

She was angry with herself for making him feel the need to avoid her.

Whereas her close Latino friend had been their source of conversation through this quiet week between them, sending indirect messages to his pal not really on Kim's behalf because he would just bring her up randomly and Jack was willing to talk about her anyways, like he knew how this worked.

"Is that exactly what he said, then?" Kim said, taking a few steps back and leaning on the mirror because she'd discovered how tired she felt. "He didn't lose any source of control or start throwing swear words around the room?"

Jerry just nodded. "He's not like that when he's angry. He's just quiet. Not the good kind though. It's the sort of silence you need to be worrying about because you don't know what he's thinking about. He could be suicidal and you wouldn't know because he's normally all dark and hot and mysterious. Am I right, Kimmy?" He said the last part in a jokily way, and Kim might have taken it more seriously than she should have.

Who could blame her with the past she had?

Kim nodded and Jerry chuckled, making Kim giggle a little because his laugh sounded funny. "But he is doing okay otherwise, right? With his exams and everything?"

"Don't sweat it. He's naturally smart, thank the Lord, so he's probably getting A's for everything." Jerry saw Kim try to smile but it didn't look right. He sighed as he took steps forward and leaned next to Kim on the mirror, leaning in near her ear and saying, "He'll get over it. When the exams are done, he'll have no excuse to avoid you anymore and he'll face the fact that he can't do this forever because he still likes you too."

"How do you know that?"

"Like I said, he may not be a man of many words, so it's all about the face. I can see it in his eyes. Kim." The girl turned her head to his, and for a second he was close to her, invading her space bubble. But when he smiled, it didn't feel like invasion anymore. It felt like comfort. "He's crazy about you."

* * *

"**What's next after this?"**

"_Paris!"_

"_I'm going to join a company … and then hopefully, my future will pick up from there."_

"_I want to open my own studio and share my passion with the world and show people that sometimes, you don't need to be born with it. The passion for dancing can grow onto you and then grow with you."_

"_Vegas, baby!"_

"_Choreograph films. Few years back, I did it for job shadowing and it didn't look pretty bad, to be honest."_

"_Dominate the world with my dancing. I'm going places."_

"_Paris, of course."_

"_I think I'd like to teach, but only after dancing in an actual ballet … in Paris … or New York." _

"**And what about our resident DJ? Where are you headed off to after you've completed your studies, my man?"**

"_I don't know. Music, of course, but I don't know where in music. I'm trying to figure that out. But I just want to make my family proud."_

"**What's that thing that you always tell me, Jack? About beats? Beautiful beats?"**

"_Oh, well … you don't choose how the beats in a song move, but you choose whether you want to dance to it or stop the music. The beats before don't matter. All that matters is the beautiful beats you turn them into."_

After a few clips of dancers dancing their way out of reality in slow motion and muted laughter of some students due to the house music in the background of the documentary, Jerry's voice over came on. "That's what I think our goal at Bobby Wasabi's Academy for Dance. We don't just improve your dancing and help you become the best that there is, but we help you discover how life itself works and how to face the challenges it presents when they come."

The screen flashed and then faded into the back, the ending credits scrolling up the screen. The only thing that separated these from everything else either of the teenagers had seen was that the ending credits mentioned every single person that attended the academy. They didn't go fast. They went fast enough for you to notice each, so everybody could get recognition, not just the people that were brave enough to talk in front of the camera about what dancing meant to them and how it helped them.

Sitting there on his bed, his legs crossed and Jack's headphones over his ears, he smiled. His masterpiece was finally done. Now all that was left to do was find Bobby and show it to him. He was really confident about this, which was why he was so excited. He sprung up and quickly put on his school blazer. He closed his laptop and stuffed it into the bag, then he got his memory stick, the one he had bought especially for this video and put it in the bag too.

Everything for him seemed to finally be falling into place. His mother was getting good income with her job here, his many brothers and sisters off at their own boarding schools were doing fine as well, he had a girlfriend who seemed to really like him, even though he was daft sometimes and had a horrible sense of humor and his other talent was going to get recognition.

Finally he wouldn't be know as Jerry who was a great dancer, but maybe also Jerry that was good at video editing and had two paths he could choose to walk down. But before he left the door to his dorm, leaving nobody behind, he decided it wouldn't be so bad to be just Jerry.

No labels. Just Jerry.

* * *

After lunch that Saturday, Milton was headed to a studio in the second building, ready to rumba. He was going to practice his tap and jazz piece for the showcase, one that he'd been choreographing for weeks, but still couldn't work out a suitable ending for the whole dance. He wanted today to be the day, so he could just relax and stop stressing about how his dance was not done three weeks before the showcase. It was all very scary, since the ginger was not very good with audiences.

He was walking with a certain bounce to his step, whistling to a song by Rock Mafia he hadn't heard in while. His duffel bag was in his hands, one containing his uniform that he was going to dress into afterwards.

As soon as the ginger took a step into the empty studio that smelt of wood, he heard something. At first, he thought that it was the stereo and that some idiot had made the mistake of leaving it on, even when Bobby had just mentioned in assembly yesterday how they should be trying to avoid leaving lights and things on too long to save the environment. Like Bobby Wasabi cared about the environment at all. He just said that because there were guests sitting behind the audience that consisted of the learners here.

He stood still for a moment and heard the noise again. Yes. It was a noise, not music. It was coming the directions of the girls' changing rooms. But it was a noise the boy was very familiar with, having lived with a human sickness magnet before coming to move in at the academy.

It was the sound of purging.

Alarmed, the skinny lad ran up in the directions of the girls' changing room and had a guilty feeling starting up in his stomach when he took a step inside. He shouldn't be feeling back because he was probably helping a person in need. He continued towards the noise, coming from the bathroom and showers. He made sure to hear no sound of running water before he took a step inside the painfully white scene and looked around at the cubicles.

Only one was locked.

The person kept on vomiting though, like they wanted to continuously. He could also hear the girl whispering in between, and judging by the sound of moving metal, he guessed that she was using toilet paper for something. Milton decided that he wouldn't say anything, but just lean against the wall next to the cubicle, ready to give the girl a friend and ask her what was going on as soon as she got out.

After all, he was book smart. He knew what was going on here.

The sound of barfing had come to a stop, and then only was the toilet flushed, the sound of the water echoing in the empty bathroom. The door to the cubicle remained closed for some time before the door opened, and the girl who had been sick inside of it was revealed.

Nobody was sure who received the shock first. But Milton's mouth dropped open and his finger pointed to the girl in front of him, his mouth struggling to say words. They only said one, a name.

"Grace?"

Indeed it was the girl with the silky brown hair and the piercing smiling eyes and the flawless skin with the really hot bod in her uniform, which had a stain on the left side of chest now. Grace looked just as shocked as Milton was. She cupped her hand over her mouth and shook her head.

"What are you doing in here, Milton?" Grace stuttered, taking a few steps back as his finger continued to point at her accusingly, like she'd done something terribly wrong. She only felt like that because she had. "The last time I checked, you were a male. Or are you hiding some valuable information about yourself?"

"You're asking me?" The ginger boy gasped, taking a few steps forward, only making Grace go even further back. "What were you doing in there, Grace?" the sound of his voice echoed and Grace just looked at him, not sure what to say. Her face was hard to read, blank. The silence was forever going, and it seemed like they'd been standing in there for so long but it wasn't even a few seconds.

But then all of a sudden, everything in her face just started to crinkle together and her eyes were flooded with tears. Before Milton could see any other source of expression, the brunette took her hands and covered her face as if it were in shame and sank down to her knees on the ground. She was sobbing loudly, almost hysterically. It's like she'd broken into pieces right in front of him. Milton wasn't expecting this, but now that he thought about it, it made sense that she was upset.

This was a disorder they were talking about.

Milton took a few cautious steps towards her before sinking down to her level, wrapping his arms around her. Grace tried to shake him off at first, but his grip just became tighter, and then the girl was just weak and surrendered, her head falling into his chest and he let her cry there for as long as she needed.

It was weird seeing Grace like this. She was so bubbly, so fearless. Learning a secret of hers was not something everybody got to do. Even if she was upset, he never imagined it to be this heartbreak, so heartbreaking it broke Milton's head as well.

"Please don't tell anyone, Milton. Please. It's just something I need to do for the showcase and that's all, I promise. I'm not expecting to do it forever. I'm just doing it as an easy way to fitness." She couldn't have anybody knowing. Who knew how people would react? What company would think of hiring a girl who did this to herself?

"Fitness?" He said it like he was disgusted. It was disgusting, especially since she thought it was okay. It wasn't okay. "Grace. You're killing yourself slowly. You're not going to get skinny. You're just going to make yourself sick."

"I don't care," the girl sobbed into his chest, snuggling closer and closing her eyes. "I just want to be skinny. I just want to be perfect and I don't want to screw anything up. I feel like this is the only reason why I'm all of a sudden dancing so nicely and why Joan isn't picking on me anymore. I thought starving myself was the answer. But I get to eat anything I want now. I just have to get it out later."

Milton shook his head. "I can't let this go on."

"Please," Grace looked up at him, and he saw how smudged her mascara was. She looked so desperate, like she was willing to do anything. Maybe she was, but he wouldn't know. He couldn't imagine what was going on in that messed up head of hers right now. "Don't tell anyone, please. Not even Julie. If she finds out, everyone finds out and then I'm dead."

He was just going to have to carry the guilt around for a little while. Just until the showcase was over. If she didn't stop, he promised to turn her in.

Surprisingly, he agreed to it by nodding his head. He rested his chin on the girl's head, sighing. They were just lying there for a little bit, listening to the sound of each other's breathing, looking at the painfully plain wall before them. Grace was happy that it was Milton who found out and not anybody else. She developed this trust for Milton that she had for nobody else. He was the guy that wouldn't hurt a fly, the guy who didn't have a lot to say but enough to say.

But this had to stop. It wasn't just a promise to Milton, but a promise to herself as well.

* * *

"That bastard."

The two words we're said very loudly, but they were said in a cold way, nearly even growled if you may. It wasn't as if anybody could hear Jack as he was sent into a rampage of anger, one that he could not satisfy since he was standing at the payphone in the middle of the night, everybody else tucked into warm beds and fast asleep, snoring and drooling. But he could tightly wrap his fingers around the phone, hoping that he was able to break it.

It was a Saturday night, which made it pretty unusual for it to be this quiet. Normally, dancers would be up and using the studios and loud but muffled music would be playing through the hallways of the academy, keeping the building alive. But tonight it was dead and no one was around, which is what brought Jack out of bed to make a phone call to home in the first place.

His mother on the other side of the call cleared her throat. "Honey, you know how I feel about you using that kind of language." She didn't sound okay. His mother who was normally cheerful was barely sobbing, the lump in her throat being heard in her voice. Jack could nearly _see_ how upset she was. It made him sick to his stomach.

He wanted to kick something. He wanted to smash something. He wanted to burn something. He wanted to lose control. Instead, he just let himself scream. "Screw it! How could he do this to us, mom? How is it possible for anybody to be so heartless?" Jack knew he had to get his voice down. But he couldn't, not even if he badly wanted to.

"You've got to calm down, Jackson," His mother ordered him. He knew she was serious because she was pulling the whole _use-full-name_ card. The boiling of his blood didn't stop; he just leaned on the wall next to the phone, breathing hard and praying that his heart could stop beating so fast. "I'm mad too, trust me, but we've got to keep ourselves together, okay? We can't let it affect us."

"Affect us?" He said it like he was disgusted. He was. Just when everything looked like it was turning up for them, of course, something from the past had to come back and bite him in the ass. Jack couldn't deal with it anymore. He wanted it to all go away so badly. He didn't like his mother suffering. He didn't like his little sister clueless, too small to even understand. She should have to.

He felt like he was slowly spiraling downwards in his mind, a place nobody else could see.

He couldn't stop himself once he went off. "It already has! When he left, we lost everything! He left everything screwed up and left us to pick up the pieces of what _he_ had broken! We had to start over. We had to lose the house and when I was _eleven_, I was forced to fend for this family and start working because he can't do his job properly! What human leaves his family the way he did, huh? He's already ruined everything, mom! This is just the cherry on top of everything."

There was a silence between them, one that only lasted for a bit but felt as if it lasted forever. He was just standing there, letting the cold wall behind him hold him up. He was sure if it wasted there, he would have dropped to the floor by now. The socks on his feet were causing him to slip slightly, but he was too tired to fix himself upright. Jack heard sobbing on the other end, sobbing that became louder and louder by the second. He found himself also on the brink of letting tears fall as well, but he wasn't allowed to. He was the strong one.

"Mom, please don't cry," Jack asked desperately. "I'm not going to drop the phone until you've stopped." But she continued to sob, and Jack's tears were stinging in his eyes stronger. "Mom." He sounded like he was about to cry as well, taking in sharp breaths and trying to stop showing any sense of weakness. She didn't reply, they just listened to the sound of each other's unsteady breathing.

There was something in his brain that told him that the call was about to end and that his time was almost up but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything other than his family right now. "Jack, we love you and we miss you. Just keep on getting those good grades, okay, honey? I don't want this to affect how good you've been doing in school and how you've been enjoying being a DJ for Uncle Bobby."

"I can't keep pretending like nothing's wrong," Jack said softly.

"Then don't pretend," Jack's mother told him. "Just don't dwell on it, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And with perfect timing, as always, they were cut off by the money running out. He let the phone ring in his ear, counting the beeps that passed. _Five. Six. Seven. _He put the phone down and sighed, leaning back against the wall when he had done so and stood there, looking at the wall in front of him. Jack knew he was drowsy, but didn't want to sleep. He couldn't sleep when everything was so messed up.

Jack didn't feel like filling in Jerry on everything that was happening and what his father did this time. He needed a break, even if it was just for five minutes. He thought about it long and hard before he finally decided to stomp towards a dark studio, switching on the lights and watching the venue come to life.

He saw his set up in the corner, the last class he had done. He promised himself to come back and get it but he didn't get the chance. He'd just been too angry today. After walking over to it, he scrolled through his iTunes library, trying to look for a song that was going to be able to set him free, like they normally did. But nothing could repair the anger he was feeling at the moment. Not even the hardest rock song.

The brunet just placed it on shuffle, plugging his speakers in and placing it on the highest volume there was. He took a few steps back, letting the first few bars of song start. He was breathing like he had just run a marathon even though he hadn't. Just thinking about his father, the man that ruined his life, tore everything to pieces made him feel like killing something.

He needed to scream his loudest. He needed to kick his hardest. He couldn't keep all of it bottled in anymore.

It was all too much.

_You're not so bad, kid. You have bite. A good gene you inherited from me. _

"A good gene?" Jack shouted, nearly bringing the walls down with his volume. "I didn't inherit a single thing from you, you asshole! I don't want your bite! I don't want your anything, just leave us alone!" He wasn't shouting at anyone because there was nobody else there. He needed to let it out. It was eating him up from the inside.

_She's pretty. Is that the girl you have a crush on, Jack?_

"What? You want to fuck her, rape her or do whatever the hell it was you did behind mom's back? You must be in complete bliss with your money and your big house and your girlfriend with big boobs and no personality! I don't care! I don't want any of it! It shouldn't matter to you! Why are you even trying? And then when you don't get what you want, you screw everything up some more, huh?"

_You're a good dancer, just like your mom. _

"How would you know, you sicko? You never showed up for one recital, one concert, one anything! You just dropped me off at rehearsal, hoping to run into a certain someone, didn't you? You didn't even realize it's your fault I stopped! I did it for you and nobody else!"

_I'm sorry everything turned out this way. _

"You're not sorry! You don't give a shit!"

He kicked his reflection in the mirror, hating how he somehow managed to look like his dad, even though he had his mother's birthmarks and brown eyes. He hated himself for wasting his time trying to impress him, trying to get to know him and trying to be like him. He wished he could take back all the seconds he spent obsessing over why his father wasn't like other fathers and why he wasn't home all the time. He should have been smart. The signs were right there.

The main guitar riff of the song, followed by the drums, started to kick it, his foot tapping to the beats impatiently and his body caving in, his arms wrapping around himself and his fingers nearly pulling out all of his hair.

"_If you really want some hot water,_

_I can help you find it."_

"I hate you!"

His body started to move, his body remembering the feeling that dancing gave him. It gave him the feeling of freedom somehow, to move however he wanted to move and not how people him to. His legs were kicking and they were bouncing, his dancing becoming a blur of angry movements, his eyes never tearing off of his reflection in the mirror.

That awful reflection.

The reflection that twisted up into a face he hated that he remembered.

"_Well, if they catch me around,_

_You're playing rock the boat._

_I'm gonna catch hell._

_And if you're throwing your voice in bed,_

_Singing a note,_

_I'm gonna catch hell._

_I know it."_

He started kicking the desks that had been holding his equipment together. He kicked it harder the second time, growling as well, and finally kicking it down on the third try, knocking down the desk and everything that had been set up on it. The music continued to play, like it was meant to especially for him. Jack nearly smiled at the destruction he'd been able to cause, and only knew how bad he had done it after he had done it.

But he didn't care.

"_Yes, alright._

_Try and catch me."_

Why should he care when his own father didn't?

His closed knuckles were punching the air, as if he were facing somebody, somebody that he wanted to smash. He started kicking again, his body losing control, his head nearly becoming dizzy.

The song started to calm down a little bit, and he sank down to his knees. He was out of breath. All that had been bottled up inside of him for all these years had just spilled out in the studio. All the words he'd wanted to say aloud for all these years had spilled out in the studio. He wasn't a prisoner anymore. He wasn't going to let himself be. This was the end.

The music suddenly stopped.

Jack looked up from his knees and looked in the mirror, seeing somebody standing by the plug on the wall, a plug that had been pulled out.

The person that had entered was a girl, a girl with pretty honey-colored hair, her big brown eyes staring at him and her little arms folded across her chest. Her purple tank top and pajama pants convinced him that she had just rolled out of bed, so she wasn't here to dance at all. He realized that it was Kim who had stopped the music, not just any girl.

The girl that had been dodging him all week.

Ever since that day that Jack had help her, dance with her and opened up to her, she'd kept quiet and it had been very awkward amongst the two. They'd been dodging each other at lunch, sometimes skipping it so they didn't have to glance across the table at each other and try to hide it and be forced to include one another in conversations. What was even weirder was everyday, when Jack would mix and watch Kim dance and his heart would drum against his chest because she danced so beautifully.

He'd decided that he didn't want to feel those feelings for Kim anymore because who he opened up, she closed him again, pulling the _just friends_ card. He didn't need that. He didn't need somebody shutting him out and making him feel like his problems were small because they weren't. He was tired of being messed around with.

The silence between them was intense. They just stared at each other, waiting for the other to come up with something in order to break it, so they could finally just talk to each other with nobody else around to make things any harder. "Don't worry," Kim said first, taking a few steps closer towards Jack, trying to be cautious. "It's only me. You didn't wake anybody up. I was just wondering around, trying to think and then I heard somebody yelling and …" She trailed off.

Jack said nothing; he just continued to look at her.

Kim tried to pick up some sort of conversation, so she cleared her throat and just started to explain herself. "I know how you feel. I don't know what it's like to have your father leave you for some other girl, but I do know what it's like to have your father leave you and by choice." Another pause in which Jack did not talk, so she just decided to go ahead and tell somebody.

She came closer to him, until she knelt down right next to him and sat with her legs crossed, waiting for Jack to make some kind of movement. She was grateful when he did, sitting back on the ground on his behind and crossing his legs as well, like a little kid who was ready to hear a story. He continued to look at her, but now he looked curious, like he was about to unlock the door to somewhere else, somewhere that was not there. Just a place that they could keep between themselves. Somewhere only they knew.

"I don't go around telling people this," Kim said, her voice starting to grow shaky, the shakiness that came before the tears. "I've never really told anyone. None of my friends back home or here but my father committed suicide when I was eight."

Silence.

You wouldn't expect a past so heavy, would you? From a girl so sweet, who danced like nobody's business? She was full of surprises, even bad ones too. That's just one of the things that continued to amaze Jack about the girl that he so badly didn't want to like so much right now.

She continued. "I was there when he went. I was in the living room and I was watching something Disney. He said that he'd be right back but he was gone for a long time. I wanted something, some kind of food. I don't remember. All I do remember is getting up and going into the bathroom and seeing him just lying there, looking so … so dead."

Kim was crying, but it was silent, the tears just falling down her cheeks and her breathing still the same. It's like she was used to crying and grieving over the same pain, which made Jack feel sick. Nobody should have to get used to suffering through pain. She stopped for a second and looked down at her hand and wondered why it felt funny, meanwhile Jack's fingers were intertwined with hers, holding onto her hand tightly. She squeezed back but didn't look up to meet his face.

"He had deep issues apparently, and I was the only one who didn't know. I always thought he was happy because we were always playing together, laughing together, dancing together. He was a dancer too and he loved it. And he loved it when I danced. And I loved it because he did. But then he left and I stopped for a little while. I went to therapy, moved to Seaford and started over. And I started dancing again and realized it was my only connection to him. He's my escape and I was his before he went."

Finally, Jack decided to say something, looking down at their hands and how his thumb was rubbing hers comfortingly. "That why I don't dance. My dad's my connection as well, but I don't want him to be. But the other day, when I was dancing with you, everything felt different. A different I haven't felt with anyone else before, and that's why I got so pissed off and that's why I haven't been speaking to you. You make me feel so … safe but you didn't care. I thought you were selfish."

"I do care. I care a lot."

"I know and I'm sorry I thought you didn't. I wasn't thinking straight."

"I'm just scared of getting close to you and then you chose to leave. I don't like people who walk out on me when times get tough. I want someone who's willing to stay even when things get difficult. Not just as a boyfriend or even a friend, but somebody in general. I feel close to you and I never want to let go of that."

"Kim. I won't ever leave you. Never ever."

Kim's head rest down onto his shoulder, getting comfortable and shifting before she found the right spot. She was looking at their reflection the mirror in front of them and sighed. It all looked so right. Why was she going against it? Why was she so afraid? Her dad wouldn't want her being like this. He'd want her to be happy. So she was going to do it – for the sake of moving on.

"Brewer, are you still up for dealing with a whole lot of this?"

* * *

**A/N:**

And that's all, folks!

So this chapter was quite interesting. Milton found out Grace's secret. Jerry's film is done. Kim and Jack have reunited once again, finally, but the question is, are they really going to consider getting together? My little abrupt ending didn't quite explain it clearly. You'll just have to read the next chapter to find out, which will also reveal other dirty secrets and one of Donna's silly tricks ;)

So yes, I'm going away for the weekend to this really pretty guesthouse but I'll be back by Sunday and I'll have written a new chapter, surely. What's one to do in the middle of nowhere?

Please remember to also review and give me my feedback on my awful chapter! Okay, it's not awful but I could've done a lot better, I think. But please review! Follow! Favorite! Do whatever! Lick my feathers! And I also promise to reply to my PM's in the morning, just saying so I have it down somewhere. I really want to go to sleep now I'm really tired and its really late okay bye now.

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


	9. The Truth: Part II

**A/N:**

I honestly have no excuse, okay? Nearly three weeks since I last updated. Truth is, I lost a family member some time this week but that doesn't excuse me for the week before. I was on a writing roll, I swear, but the loss of somebody just ruined it completely so I stopped writing for a while when my thoughts started eating me up from inside my head.

But still. I'm really mean. I should hand these in on time. You guys are all really awesome telling me what you think of my story and all and you guys are just so incredible, oh my goodness I think I'm going to cry. :')

But I'm not going to make this author's note long at all because there's a really dramatic chapter ahead, okay? And I want you guys to read it like right now. But don't stop reading this author's note quite yet okay because I have a suggestion.

While I wrote what you all are about to read right now, the first part of the chapter, I was listening to The Only Moment We Were Alone by Explosions In The Sky and I recommend you to listen to the song while reading it because it fits everything so flipping nicely okay? I'm not expecting all of you to do this but if you want something awesome to listen to starting off the chapter, then that should be it.

Okay. You can stop reading now. x

**Disclaimer: **Do I really have to do this?

* * *

**::**

**9**

**The Truth: Part II**

**::**

* * *

_When the chatter stopped, the silence came after and it was dangerous. _

_All the heads in the cafeteria turned in horror at the boy whose eyes were dead set on another. They didn't expect that after the heavy footsteps he had made would there be a terrifying scream following afterwards. Nobody would ever think that something like that could escape his system. He was known for being laid back, he was known for being cool headed and as the kind who would just roll with the punches. _

_Not this time. Jerry was not going to just sit back and let other people control his life this time. It wasn't just the fact that he felt betrayed that angered him but it was the fact that he had the desire to just relax. He hated it when he felt that. The desires to just relax. It made him sick because it was a desire that enabled everyone around him to take control of who he was and what he wanted. _

_Not this time. Now he was switching it right off. _

_When the boy Jerry had his sight on turned around, he was met with a horrible sight, the sight of his best friend jumping onto him. _

_The next thing he could register happening was a cold fist meeting his face, and his automatic response was fighting back, his body trying to get the Latino off of his, but when the second punch hit his face, he decided that we was going to hit back. A few shrieks came from the audience among them, people gathering around them and others clearing off to find a teacher. Grace was a part of those people, being the closest to the door, who had tried stopping him from coming in. _

_It felt like everything was happening in slow motion, like they were all caught up in a flashing, throbbing moment. _

_There was a girl who came out of the crowd, trying to break the two of them up by mushing herself between them. But it wasn't working. The chaos wouldn't stop. "Stop it, Jerry! You're not going to settle anything with violence. Just please stop it! You're hurting him!" She didn't sound like herself. Normally, she didn't sound this desperate, this devastated. _

_But then tears were coming out of her eyes because she knew exactly what this was about and who caused it. Kim's heart was beating so fast that her legs began to shake and they gave in. She landed on the floor next to the two boys, covering her eyes and she sobbed in a ball on the floor. _

"_You're a douche, Jack!" Another punch came from Jerry. _

"_What are you talking about?" Jack screamed as the guy on top of him grabbed his collar and shook him. _

"_You knew the entire time! You knew and you didn't tell me. You told a girl you've only know for three minutes over a guy who was there through all of it with you! You didn't even do anything about it!"_

"_What am I supposed to do, Jerry? Everything had been going great for you and I didn't want to ruin it. I wanted to pretend like everything was okay because I thought it would be if I just ignored it. You don't need the extra stress and I know that! And I knew it would kill you!"_

"_Oh no, Jack. I can take it just fine! That's the problem! I don't need you babysitting my ass, alright? I'm angry because you didn't tell me." _

"_I wouldn't need to babysit you if you weren't so damn immature. You're beating me up in front of everybody because think it'll fix things but it won't. It doesn't change anything!"_

_The two tackled and Jack was on top of his and defensively punched the guy back, even though he didn't want to at all. When he saw his friend's eyes, they were filled with rage, rage he had never seen before on any kind of human being except himself. "You're just like your father! You're a coward!" Jerry screamed into his face, spitting out his words with more venom than Jack could take. _

_Those were words he never wanted to hear. _

_Maybe he was just like him. _

_Maybe he was a bad person. _

_After all, all he did was hurt people. Wouldn't be so bad if he did it some more, wouldn't it?_

_Before he knew it, her threw the punch towards his jaw, and another towards his nose. The blood that was starting to drip down to his lip told him that he may have caused damage but he didn't care right then. Right then his heart was pumping and he was angered. _

_He was seeing red. _

_When Jerry's body crippled, giving up, Jack stopped. He jumped up before he let himself do any more damage, damage that he would regret. When he was on his feet, he touched the tender side of his jaw and let the pain of it consume him. He looked around at everybody looking at him, the awed expressions of dancers that came here to escape from reality, just like he. _

_But now everything was ruined. His happy place had been invaded by the bad memories he had tried to leave behind. _

_When his eyes moved down to the girl beneath his face, looking up at him with wet eyes, he gulped. He'd never imagined that he would be able to see Kim in such a vulnerable state ever, but here he was, seeing her the most fragile he'd ever seen. _

_But the thought to how she'd felt didn't occur to him because he didn't care. He didn't care about anything right now. Right now, he just needed to breathe and get away from all these people who had problems with him._

"_I hate you." He said, cold but soft. It was the worst thing that Kim had ever heard coming from someone's mouth in a while. "I hate you." He said it louder, giving everybody a fright, including Kim, who just gasped and let another tear fall. "I hate you!"_

_Just as quickly as everything had happened Jack had walked out, his steps slow and scary. The cafeteria doors were open when he reached them, the shocked figure of Bobby Wasabi standing before him. It was an expression everybody else had been wearing, but it seemed more upset than theirs were. He could sense what had been happening because he knew too. _

_And Bobby didn't stop Jack when he shoved passed him, not saying a word._

* * *

nine days earlier …

Claire was walking back to her dorms when she heard the two voices coming from behind the many plants that blocked her visions of the field next to her. Her feet were hurting because she'd been in her pointe shoes longer than her feet could physically take, and her duet with Ricky had to be perfect for the showcase that was going to be two weeks away on Wednesday, which was just two days away. Everyone was trying to squash in finishing touches and it was all so exhausting.

The sun was beginning to set slightly, the clouds beginning to go a beautiful shade of orange and the sprinklers already watering the grass on the green fields of the academy. It was such a breathtaking sight, one she could not focus on because her ears were distracted by lowed and hushed voices. That meant that their conversation was not to be heard. But Claire was known for listening to the voices that didn't want to be heard.

She stopped in the middle of the pathway, letting her lean body lean to the left so she could hear enough to make out what they were saying. The voices sounded familiar. What made them so hard to recognize was the amount of desperation that was used. This made the corners of the ginger's mouth turn, her lips rubbing together to spread her lip-gloss that she'd reapplied.

"I can't take the secrecy anymore, Grace. It's starting to eat me from the inside and I can't bare seeing you like this either."

The girl's eyebrows shot up when she heard Grace's name. She must have been the opposite person, the second participant in their dialogue. The voice that she'd heard was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't put her finger on whose it was.

There were sobbing noises. "No. We can't tell anyone, Milton. Everyone's going to find out and Jerry … he's going to be utterly shattered. He's finally happy and I can see it when I'm with him. This will just crush him." More sobbing followed.

Oh, so the other guilty participant was Milton? This confused Claire very much. What was this so called secret that Grace had been speaking of that only her and Milton shared? Claire nearly giggled as her mind suggested that this was probably some scandalous gossip she was consuming.

"Don't cry." There was movement that Claire couldn't make out. She couldn't see them after all, but it's not like she needed any kind of scene set out for her. She knew exactly what they were doing out here. "I'll be quiet, all right? For as long as you need me to. But Grace, we've got to tell him some day. I can't bear sneaking around like this. I feel filthy."

"You aren't filthy, Milton," Grace said, her voice muffled. The volume was being blocked by something. "You're one of the best people I know."

The redheaded girl nearly jumped up and down in joy. This just contributed to her list of secrets to use when blackmail became necessary, or a secret that she could try and fit into Donna's plan for getting Jack back. It's not like she'd ever been fond of Jerry. He was too loud and rude for her liking and snapping him back to reality was just what he needed right now.

He needed to see the fact that he was going out with a skank who has a fetish for scrawny, ginger tap dancers with no sexual appeal whatsoever.

Before she could hear anything else, her beautiful hair flipped and her body turned, her body going the direction it was originally headed for. Only now her steps were fast, and her gossip tank was full, a gossip tank she was ready to spill.

* * *

It wasn't long after dinner, before nine, when Jack heard a knock on his dorm door. His fingers were messing around on the nylon strings of his guitar, the movement stopping completely after he was aware that somebody was here, and that they could hear him play. He had an idea of who this somebody behind the door might be and suddenly didn't mind anymore. He put his guitar down onto the bed and got up onto his bare feet, looking around the dorm and making sure that nobody was in there with him.

The last time he had checked, Jerry had arranged some kind of late night rendezvous with his girlfriend because they had an anniversary or something. Either way, he'd heard an earful the night before and the questions of advice for what to do for her. He was so grateful that he could just chill tonight before lights out, therefore he had immediately put his pajama bottoms on and whipped out his guitar.

He opened the door and in came in a girl with golden locks and cute pink pajama shorts. Kim just walked into the room like she lived here, even though she felt like she already did. Whether she liked it or not, she'd been in here many times ever since Saturday, basically in attempt to burn her showcase track onto a CD, and a few ahem, other stuff too.

Jack closed the door behind him laughing softly underneath his breath. "You seem like you're very eager to be here tonight."

"I could barely escape them!" Kim shrieked quietly as she settled down onto Jack's bed, next to his guitar, getting underneath his covers because her legs were really cold. "Julie was asking so many questions about where I was going and I had to lie to her about needing to practice for the showcase in a classroom in the third building. You should have seen the looks Donna was giving me though. People are onto us."

Sitting down next to her, Jack was laughing. "Jerry's just as suspicious. He's busy questioning why I'm speaking about you less even though we've made up. He thinks I'm entering this stage of denial."

Being in a relationship was too risky right now, since the showcase was drawing closer, being two weeks away and Kim didn't need the extra stress but neither of the two could deny their feelings for each other and how much they wanted to make the most out of it.

They'd decided they wanted to be more than friends, but they didn't want people making too big of a deal about it so they kept everything on the down low as much as they could, even from their closest friends and dorm mates. Kim didn't want everyone else finding out before her friends did. Jack wasn't sure how exposing their relationship would go with Donna so he said that he wanted to have a mature conversation with her before they could take the step of telling everyone and letting people know.

It wasn't easy for either of them; since they had the urges to display affection but couldn't because they weren't supposed to be together. According to everyone else, they were still best friends who were secretly crazy about each other. They had slipped a few times though, swapping glances for too long and connecting pinkies when they walked side by side. Even if they weren't together, people were still talking about them.

"I like your shorts," Jack said, giggling a little bit, looking down at Kim as she rolled her eyes. "They're sexy. And a little short for this kind of weather, don't you think, Ms. Crawford?"

"I had no idea the outside world was so cold when I put them on, alright?" The blonde shrugged, smacking Jack playfully on his hand. "I don't understand Seaford weather, even if I've been here for a long time. It's boiling in the day but then it's extremely cold at night. I'm never ever going to understand how the sky works down here. I'm hoping when I become a professional dancer, my occupation will move me to another state that had ordinary weather."

The two fell into a silence after giggling it off. It wasn't awkward at all. It was just a nothingness that seemed enjoyable. They had each other there and that was it. That was all they really needed, him sitting next her while she was on her back, looking up at his upright figure.

Kim broke the silence. "Can you play something for me, Jack?"

He was caught off guard. "What?"

"I heard you playing outside the door for a little bit. I have a few times and you don't really sound half bad. I've always tried asking you but I didn't know if it would seem too intimate or not." Jack chuckled down at her and Kim blushed a rich shade of scarlet. "Don't laugh at me for thinking about it, okay? I realize that you don't play for people that much. I think I realize a lot of things about you other people might not."

The girl mentally slapped herself when Jack hesitated. Of course he wouldn't play for her. They hadn't been together for that long, but she thought that he was one of the only people here at this school that she'd poured her heart out to meant that they shared something more than they were supposed to. Thinking about it, Kim knew a lot of things about Jack that the average person who just went here wouldn't.

Like how he was allergic to salmon and how blue cheese made him want to vomit. How a dimple would appear whenever he started biting on the inside of his cheek, which he only did when he was nervous. How his fake laugh and real laugh were really different, but when it was for real and it went on for a certain amount of time, he would eventually snort.

It freaked her out because she thought she was rushing into this relationship with a person she just met but knew so well.

When the corners of Jack's mouth started to face up, Kim felt relief because she knew that she wasn't being too forward. "Well, I have been fixing up something for the showcase, to be honest. Bobby's going to let me play in front of millions of people and I'm nervous. I guess it would help if I played in front of an audience before the time."

"That's great," Kim smiled, and then there was an awkward pause while they were just looking at each other. Kim was confused because Jack didn't move at all to get his guitar at all; he was just looking at her intently with a look that made her want to melt. She thought for a minute he was going to kiss her but she asked a question that ruined the moment. "Are you going to play?"

"Not here," Jack said, shaking his head and looking down at his fingers. "I need to do this somewhere else."

* * *

Julie wasn't sure why she was feeling so upset. Maybe it was the fact that she'd been feeling very distant from Milton lately. They couldn't be together for five minutes without entering into an awkward silence and every time Julie questioned him, he got really defensive and said that she shouldn't worry about it – but she was worrying and big time.

She was trying to calm herself down by reading a novel while she was in bed, waiting for Kim to return from dancing rehearsals, the ones she had claimed to go to, although she didn't believe her one bit. There was another reason why she went, a reason that she won't seem to share but a reason Julie could already detect, coming straight from her bones. But not even Kim's sketchy behavior was enough to push the Milton issue out her mind.

They had been together a long time, nearly a year and a half. They knew each other back to front since their friendship had started way before their relationship had. They had went to Seaford High before being chosen for the academy and were accepted the same year. Since then, they had become close. Julie's crush had developed the year after, when Milton had accidentally kissed her while they were practicing an assignment for class. The rest was history.

And she knew when something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.

"You look like you're about to piss yourself," Donna commented, turning Julie's attention off the book and to the blonde who was standing and facing the cupboard, choosing pajamas. "Is it the showcase?"

Julie sighed. "Not really. Maybe partially, but not really. I'd tell you but you'd be a bitch about it, telling me that I'm pathetic. So yeah. You're not really number one of my list of best friends right now." She didn't know what had gotten over her then. It just seemed to spill out of her.

Donna scoffed, turning around and putting her hands up defensively. "Whoa, there, tiger. I'm sorry if I invaded territory. I know I may not come across as the type, but I'm genuinely concerned about – oh my gosh." Donna's expression changed into something shocked and immediately, Julie's heart thumped. She was confused, but she was bracing herself for the worst. "I thought Claire was totally lying when she told me but I guess not." She put a hand onto her chest, and took a seat next to Julie on her bed.

There was gossip going about that Julie was unaware of. She had to be smart about this because she wanted to know. "Going to rub it in my face now?" The champagne blonde was very impressed with her lying ability.

"Don't worry, Julz," the blonde put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I guess it happens to all of us. I mean I had a best friend in sixth grade that liked the guy I was going out with. She knew I was totally nuts about him and he was totally nuts about me but she went after him anyways. I guess it was easy for her to nab him away from me since she developed boobs earlier than I did and I had a bad case of the pimples. Thank God that's over. Anyway, she made out with him and then the friendship was over and done."

A friend making out with Milton? Julie tried to hide the panic on her face and replace it with anger. It wasn't hard because she could already feel herself beginning to grow pretty angry right now. That would explain why he'd been dodging her. He was either afraid of spilling out the truth or was going to see his friend behind her back.

Her mind travelled back to Kim.

No.

She wouldn't.

"I guess you're right. Maybe it does happen to everyone," Julie half smiled, trying to hold back the tears that were stinging in her eyes. She didn't know if it was even true, but she wasn't going to let Kim go unquestioned. She was going to find her right this minute and set her straight … or rather beg her to tell her that everything that has been happening is just a coincidence that Claire had miscalculated.

Donna pouted. "Come here sweetie." She pulled Julie into a still hug, squeezing her. She didn't know why she had found Donna's grasp kind of comforting. Maybe it was because that was the only sort of comfort she had received. "It's okay. Milton is crazy for leaving you for some old hag who's juggling the hearts of two men."

Juggling two men. She couldn't believe it.

When it hit her, Julie could feel more tears stinging in her eyes. She had never felt more betrayed by somebody close to her. She was angry with Kim for letting Milton go after her, even if it wasn't her fault in the first place – or maybe it was the other way around. She would have never suspected it. They have hardly dropped any kind of hints.

I guess that's the magic of lying isn't it?

And while she was there, beginning to sob on Donna's shoulder, she felt her heart twist inside.

* * *

The size of the hall always surprised her when she walked into the place, the wall covered in artworks made especially for Bobby Wasabi and the floors always looking so clean and pristine, like there would be somebody performing every night. The chairs were soft velvet and the stage was lit up, the black curtains pulled tightly closed. Their footsteps were the only sounds echoing off in the room, sounding loud in the dead silence.

While Jack's hand was dragging her towards the stage, Kim looked around the hall, wondering why it looked so different and then it dawned upon her how close the night of the showcase was. When their feet started to make louder noise, she realized that she was climbing up the stairs of the stage, her eyes shifting to a piano in the corner of the room. It was only when the hand she was clinging onto dragged her there, in that direction, that she realized what was happening.

"So you're some musical prodigy, aren't you?" Kim smirked, Jack looking back at her and chuckling softly. "Is there anything else I don't know about you, Brewer?"

The brunet shrugged, letting go of her hand and looking down at the beautiful grand piano before taking a seat on the stool. "Guitar, piano, ukulele, violin, a little bit of drums. I've had a few flute lessons but I don't have the breathe for that. My lungs aren't that strong at all. And I can also play some pretty hardcore glockenspiel."

Kim put her hands up defensively before steadily carrying herself onto the piano, her legs swinging off the sides. "That's actually quite impressive. Unless you're lying to me," she added cheekily, scrunching up her nose at him and watched him smile.

"I think you'll believe me after you see me playing some sport," Jack laughed and the girl on the piano laughed with him. "No, I'm serious. My mind only speaks music. I don't understand football and soccer and baseball. I think that's why my dad was so glad when I decided to do some dancing. There was something to build up some muscle."

Then Kim's cheeks went red. "But how do you not dance and still …" her head nodded at Jack's biceps and he looked down at the piano, lifting the lid from it's place and looking at the black and white keys in awe as he laughed. "You know what? I'm an idiot. You obviously gym or something, just ignore me." Again tonight she mentally slapped herself. Why was she being so forward with him? It was hard not to, since they've grown so close.

"I love that you say what's on your mind," Jack said, shaking his head and not making direct eye contact with her. "And you don't even try and sugar coat things. You just say things straight out. I also love how understanding you are with everything. I can tell you anything and it's like we've both been through the same thing."

"We are both completely screwed up and have completely screwed up fathers."

"See? Straight forward. Which is why I need you as a judge tonight on my piece," He looked down at his fingers and settled them into place. They were shaking a little bit, but that was possibly the nerves. Jerry knew that he played but he's never seen him play, in the long time that they've known each other. That's why it was so special that Kim was here. "I composed it myself. I started a long time ago, when my dad left but I just gave up and left it alone. I don't know what got it back but I just sat here one night and … I started playing and it felt really good. I finished the song in my head because I have nowhere to write it down, and also my chances of messing up are more unlikely."

Jack looked up at Kim just one more time and took in the sight of her. The sight of her cascading golden locks and her deep hazel eyes and her rosy cheeks. She was looking at him so intensely it made his heart skip many beats and the way she looked, even in her pajamas, made him want to jump up and just kiss her right then and there.

He gulped before he looked down at his hands ready to play and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and he began to feel it. That sensation that he'd always get when he was playing an instrument, his fingers satisfied by the sound they knew they were going to create. It was a feeling that he liked and treasured, one of the things that kept him walking upon this earth.

When his fingers started moving, pressing the keys at a violent speed, the first few bars of the song a crescendo, the notes becoming louder, then falling into a diminuendo, the notes gradually falling into a pause. He repeated the bar once more, watching his fingers moving across the keyboard quickly and carefully, amazed that he had not screwed up. He was too focused, the world around his gone. It was only him and the music now, the music only he had the power to create and to control.

Kim looked at him amazed, her eyes wide and watching as his fingers crazily moving across the keyboard like he'd done this a thousand times. He sounded like a professional, like he'd been at this for years, when he'd only just gotten used to playing just now again. The song sounded so sweet, so smooth, so delicate, so _emotional_. It was something you could dance too. But she didn't need to dance. All she needed to do was listen. Listen to the hurt Jack didn't dare say aloud.

She watched as his eyes closed for a few moments and then opened again, thinking about the next bars, the next movements. And he looked beautiful. He wasn't just attractive or handsome or hot but he was literally beautiful. The beautiful that one only comes across a few times in their lifetime. Those people that look like angels who had escaped from heaven.

His lively chocolate brown eyes didn't touch hers once as he played. He just continued until he reached presto, his fingers climbing up the board and then back down, before he completed the song in a chord, letting the sound of it echo through the hall. That was when he looked up at Kim, when the echo had stopped bouncing off the walls and the song was done. He didn't realize he was smiling until Kim smiled back at him.

There was a silence that hovered between them, when they were just looking at each other and waiting for the other to say something. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't normal either. It was something in between.

"Jack," Kim could only breath, because the lump in her throat was taking up most of the space she had to inhale.

"Kim," he played along, his hand coming up to caress her cheek. Kim put her hand hover his and traced shapes over it, leaning in so he didn't have to reach so far. His touch was electrocuting. "I remember when you danced in front of Rudy for the first time. I could tell that there was something different about you from everybody else here. Has anybody ever told you that you're that missing something? That puzzle piece that finishes the puzzle, that makes everything make sense again?"

Kim smiled sadly and shook her head. "No one's ever told me that." Her smile faded and she looked down at Jack's face still soft on her face.

"Then I'll be the first. I don't know how long this is going to last, okay? And I'm not going to lie to you and tell you forever. But you're my missing something and I knew that from the second I laid eyes on you. You are today, will be tomorrow and a thousand more tomorrows after that. Doesn't matter if in the morning, I wake up and I hate you. You're always going to be that person that just made everything make sense for a second when that second was all I needed."

The blonde sighed, trying to stop tears from escaping her eyes, taking Jack's hand and intertwining her fingers into his, giving it a squeeze. "Please just stop it," she breathed again, trying so hard to relax but she couldn't.

"Stop what?" Jack asked with genuine concern.

She shrugged. "I don't want to feel so deeply for you," she was looking down at their hands, sliding off the piano and landing with a soft thud on the stage, which was coated in special material for tap items in the showcase. She didn't see it had been there until now, when she was trying so hard not to look at Jack. Kim took a seat next to him, sharing the stool, looking at their hands still connected. "Because the more I feel for you, the harder it will be for me when you finally see that I'm not good enough or brave enough for you and then leave."

"Why are you so fixed on the idea that people leave?"

"Because everybody leaves me."

Jack was confused. "But you still manage to be friends with people, Kim. What makes being in a relationship with me harder than being in our platonic one?"

"Because, Jack," Kim began, shaking her head. "I don't know what I'd do if you decided to leave. I don't know how I'd be able to keep myself together at all. I mean a week with you hating my guts ruined my dancing completely because all I think about is you. All I look forward to is seeing you at lunch most days so we can have our weird conversations and our laughs." And with a sad giggle she added, "And I've actually never kissed a guy before you because I've had trouble trusting people, guys especially. And I trust you. And losing the only guy I've ever trusted scares me."

She finally looked up at him and saw him looking into her eyes, like he was trying to catch her from falling into something she couldn't swim out of alone. Their faces were so close, their noses nearly touching. Kim could feel Jack's breath on her cheeks and she gulped because she could feel herself leaning in already. It's not like he was making it any easier to resist wanting to kiss him. The way Jack was looking at her wasn't helping at all.

Then he chuckled. "How come you never told me I was your first kiss?"

Kim touched her forehead to his and sighed, a smile creeping onto her lips. "I didn't want you to think I was some kind of loser. It's not like I could get kissed even if I wanted to. Like I said, it's not every day that I completely trust people. But I trust you and now I'm scared because I think I'm falling in love with you."

She closed his eyes, as if she were waiting for a bomb to explode. This was it. This was the moment where she'd be able to see the outcome of what would happen when all her terrible waiting and untrusting feelings were to disappear and she was able to trust somebody as much as she had trusted Jack, as much as she had trusted her father.

There was a pause between them before Jack said anything. "I'm … puzzled." He said it with a stutter, and sounded more confused than he was expressing.

Kim's heart skipped several beats and her stomach dropped, expecting the worst. She was starting to think that being honest might not have been the best idea in the world. "What's puzzling you Jack?"

"How easily I'm falling for you, so quick and so easy," he said quietly, like he was whispering and didn't want anyone except for her to hear. "The first time I saw you, I swear I felt my heart starting to beat all funny. Then we got to know each other and I felt myself falling for you even harder. Then we danced and everything around me just changed." He blinked, breaking eye contact with her and continued.

"I love you. I love how you make my day always. I love how you're able to joke about us being messed up. I love that you understand me the way nobody else can. I love how your eyes always sparkle and your slightly crooked finger, even though you're insecure about it. I love your smile and how it's always huge and bright and I love it when you nervously tuck your hair behind your ears. I love how you can babble on about pointless things with me. I love you, all of you and it puzzles me because we've only known each other for a few months." The sparkle in his eyes seemed to say it all, but somehow, Kim still didn't believe him.

She felt her lips curve into a smile when Jack looked back up at her. Kim could also feel little tears in the back of her eyes but wouldn't let them fall. She couldn't because there was still a voice inside of her that was nagging about this.

"How do I knew you haven't said this to trillions of other girls?" It was the insecurity speaking, the unsure voice inside her head.

The blonde didn't question Jack at all when he slammed his lips against hers. She thought it was partly because she was talking too much for his liking and his hunger was only growing more. But she could feel how different this was to the others, how passionate and sweet and slow it was, burning with something brighter. She kissed him back with everything she had, taking his face into her hands so he couldn't pull away. By the looks of it, it didn't look like he was going to – and he didn't.

Well, until a few seconds later, when he started laughing, his lips still touching Kim's lightly. The girl started giggling to and opened her eyes, seeing Jack's already opened before her. "What are you laughing at?"

"If you never told me, I wouldn't be able to tell," Jack said truthfully. "Virgin lips."

"There it is," Kim laughed. "I was waiting for it."

* * *

Grace was busy undoing her bun in front of the studio mirrors before heading into the changing rooms to get changed back into her uniform for lunch. The ballerinas around her were all sighing in relief whilst taking off their pointe shoes, making little conversation amongst themselves about who knows what. Grace kept to herself, like she normally had, counting in her head to the beats of the music, even though the music had long ago been stopped.

She received a little bit of a fright when Joan's stern face appeared behind her. There was something weird about it though. Was she wearing extra make up? No, it couldn't be. She somewhat looked the same. Or maybe it was because her hair was loose? Nope, that's not it. When Grace finally realized that the bitter woman was smiling, she smiled too and turned around, fixing her mouth into a line and standing with her hands behind her back.

This must have been about the dance that she had been preparing for so long to show to her teacher and finally had the guts and present it very randomly today during the lesson. She couldn't have done it of course without the motivation of her friends, telling her that she could do it.

"Joan," Grace said after clearing her throat. "Do you have any feedback from the dance I performed today? I'd really like some pointers so I can improve with my technique." She sounded professional, but on the inside she was beaming with all her heart.

"I've got to admit, Ms. Wexler, I am very impressed by how your performance in my class has most certainly improved," Joan said, and then she giggled. The wicked witch of Bobby Wasabi Academy for Dance actually displayed some source of happiness – towards Grace! "Your dance today in class was spectacular. Sure, there were moments that your technique did slip up a little bit, but it's the best I've seen you dance all semester! I was coming over here to congratulate you."

Grace allowed herself to smile now, the happiness inside of her starting to show on the surface. "Thank you so much, Joan. You don't know how much it means to me you liking what I choreographed. I worked really hard on it."

"I'm sure," Joan said. "Which is why I want you to show Mr. Wasabi."

The room went quiet as a few gasps were sounded and all eyes were on Grace for a little moment. Honestly, she didn't know what this meant, showing Bobby Wasabi a piece she had choreographed herself. It must have been big, because everyone was looking at her like she had just received some kind of award.

Little did she know that just being asked to show Bobby Wasabi one of you very own pieces meant that Joan thought your choreography was meant for the stage, showcase material. That also meant that professionals and people who hired dancers for a living were going to see her works, which meant that her future could be sorted out. Nobody got his or her hopes up when getting an offer that huge, but if Grace knew what it really meant, she would be over the moon.

"I don't know what to say," Grace said, trying to smile but her eyes were too wide and her breathing all funny. She couldn't collect the words to organize her astonishment and surprise. "I'm honored, Joan. Thank you so much for granting me this opportunity."

A cheer started up in the corner of the room, one coming from Jerry, Kim and Julie, and then they applauded their talented friend. The applauding sound of clapping began to spread amongst the class of learners, hoots and howls coming from all who surrounded her. She blushed as they did, looking down at the ground and continuously tucking in the loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "Grace! Grace! Grace!" They all started to chant; a chant that had began in the corner where the madness had.

Joan turned around taking a look at her excited students, her face beginning to crinkle again and her hands coming forward and making three deadly clapping sounds that stopped the chanting and the applause within seconds. "Changing rooms! All of you! Now!"

Everybody began to scatter the studio like ants, getting their belongings and running to the changing rooms, acknowledging Grace once more before disappearing through either one of the two doors. Joan cleared her throat before speaking again. "I shall schedule an appointment with Mr. Wasabi on your behalf and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Thank you so much, ma'am," Grace said, her smile never leaving her face. And as Joan started to turn away, she added politely, "Have a good weekend, Joan."

"You too, Ms. Wexler," Joan called behind herself, her frightfully fast legs gathering her things by the desk which Jack normally would deejay at and was out the studio doors, slamming them behind her, like she always did.

For a moment, Grace was alone to take in everything that had just happened like a sponge, closing her eyes and opening them again, checking if this was some kind of dream. She was so glad that she'd decided to present it. She had somebody to thank for it though.

When she heard someone clapping behind her back, she turned around and saw Jerry, the very individual responsible for her getting this opportunity, standing by the entrance to his dressing room, a broad grin covering his features. Grace squealed before running into his open arms, jumping onto him and swinging her legs around his hips, squeezing him with all the strength she had left, Jerry squeezing her back with the same strength.

"Oh my God!" Grace squealed into his neck.

"Oh my God!" Jerry repeated but shouting it loudly for all to hear, swinging Grace around again and again. "You killed it today, you know that!" Grace was laughing blissfully until the Latino brought her back down onto the ground. She was able to stand still even though the room was spinning. Jerry cupped her face in his hands, looking down at her laughing smile and didn't wipe off his own. Her thumb was stroking Grace's cheek softly, making her smile falter a little. "You did it, Grace! You actually did it!"

"I couldn't have done it without you!" Grace said shrieked softly. "You and that stupid video camera of yours." Jerry rolled his eyes, his arms going down to Grace's waist now as he threw his head back in slight laughter. "How's the movie coming along, by the way, mister? I hope it's nearly done."

The guy nodded, his mouth frowning as he thought, resting his chin on Grace's head and then he said, "I actually showed it to Bobby and he said that he's going to use it in the showcase." Grace's face lit up. "I was going to tell you yesterday but then again, you were really distant yesterday and I decided to just let you be."

"Can I be the first one to see it?" she asked muffled into his chest, his really nice smelling chest. "I really want to see it."

Jerry chuckled. "Jack got dibs." He drew away, looking down at his girlfriend and sighing at the disappointed look on her face. Her pout was able to drive him this crazy, he didn't know how. "Don't worry. You're going to see it second." He kissed her nose and she laughed, the disappointment fading away instantly. "Forget about the movie. Joan just said that you could show your dance to Bobby Wasabi. That's a big deal."

"It is?" She said it like she could hardly believe it.

He kissed her on the nose again, making her giggle. "A very big deal. So big that tomorrow, I'm going to take you into town." Kiss. "I'm going to take you to this really nice restaurant," Kiss. "And we've going to eat like kings." Kiss. And a pause. "Or because I don't have the money to do any of that with you, we could just go and grab a bite from Subway or Burger King or whatever … it's your choice."

Then her stomach turned. Literally. She could feel something coming up her pipe at that very moment. Maybe it was the thought of doing what she had been doing for the past two weeks. Maybe it was the thought that eating disgusted her and it was starting to scare her. Now her own boyfriend couldn't take her out for celebration lunch without her being nervous about getting the food out afterwards. It had been such a short period of time, but even as badly as she wanted to and even with Milton watching over her and escorting her from class to class, she couldn't stop.

She was stuck in a place she couldn't escape.

Jerry saw the look on her face change. She looked crushed and somewhat sick. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

She so badly wanted to.

So badly.

But she changed her expression quickly, before the thought about telling Jerry no dawned upon her. She smiled widely, making sure that it looked as realistic as possible. "No, I was just thinking about something in the routine for a second. I feel like Burger King. My diet has been way too ridiculous lately. I can feel the meat burning off of me."

Little did he know how literally she meant that last statement.

When Grace buried her chin in Jerry's neck once again after her dragged her into another victorious hug, she could feel her stomach twisting up and her heart beating faster. She felt filthy and horribly guilty. She shouldn't be lying like this to him. She shouldn't be lying to her friends about extra dancing to go get her food out. She shouldn't be trapping Milton with that type of secret.

But she continued to let the addiction eat her up.

* * *

Julie could feel the heat in her fingers as she made up her bed in the morning, making sure her back was facing her traitor. The way she was making up her bed, shoving the blanket over the sheets and slamming the pillows down onto the bed obviously concerned the blonde behind her that she was trying to ignore but she didn't care. Normally she would, but right now she didn't.

When she was over at the mirror, doing her hair for breakfast into the regular side ponytail, Kim decided she would strike. Julie had been giving her the cold shoulder all morning, not saying a thing since they woke up and all that she had muttered was a grumbly "good morning". She could tell that she was mad and mad at her no less. But was baffled her was about what she did. She had thought about it long and hard in the shower, but couldn't think of anything that could have offended her in any type of way.

"Okay, Jay, what's up?" Kim said, taking a seat on the bed behind Julie and crossed his arms, folding her leg over the other. "You've been ignoring me the whole morning. What did I do?"

The girl with the curly orange locks turned around on her heel aggravated. "What did you do?" She snapped, making Kim jump slightly. "What did _you_ do?" She laughed dryly, turning back around and brushing through her hair, trying to go easy on her hair. "Everyone's talking about it, you horrid letch! Everyone knows your little secret."

Kim's eyes widened and her face twisted in horror. Even if the world did know about her and Jack going out, why would it get Julie so mad? Then she figured out this obviously wasn't about that because Donna would be going insane if she knew about half of it. So Kim asked, "What? What is everybody talking about Julie because clearly I haven't received the message?"

"About you and Milton."

Kim blinked. "What?"

That's when the confusion really settled in with the blonde. What was her friend talking about? Her and Milton? No offense but he certainly wasn't her type and there was no way that she would ever betray Julie like that. That was cruel, cruelty at an entirely new level. But why was everybody talking about? What hints has she even left that would give anyone the idea? Then she thought about her sneaking around with Jack and felt her stomach bend.

"Julie, I can assure you that there is nothing going on between Milton and I," Kim said, pulling her fingers through her still loose hair and burying her face into her hands before abruptly lifting it once again. "I would never do that to you and you know that. Who in the hell told you this really messed up information?" She was curious about that, that's for sure.

Then relief swooped across Julie's face and she relaxed. She should have known that Donna would try to pull something like this, since she was the reigning evil queen of mean. She turned around and looked at Kim and with that very look; Kim knew what was going on.

"You heard this from Donna?" She nearly laughed.

Then Julie rethought it through once again and the confused look had travelled to her, and she decided to take a seat back down on the bed next to Kim. "Okay, she didn't really mention any names. She just said that one of my best friends was juggling two hearts and one of them was Milton. I figured that Jack would be the second subject because you are always leaving to weird places and claiming you're practicing your dance when I know you're not."

Kim blushed and looked down at her hands. "So I guess it's time I fess up then."

Julie nearly had a stroke. "So you are with Milton?"

"Good heavens no," Kim said hastily, shaking her hand and playing with her thumbs, a smile crawling up onto her lips. "I haven't been sneaking around with Milton, I've been sneaking around with Jack. We've kind of been going out for a few days but we don't want been to know."

Now Julie had a stroke. She was on her feet in no time, screaming her lungs out and wrapping her arms around Kim as she was laughing at her friend. "Finally! Although, I always knew that sooner or later, you guys would get through all of those issues you have."

"But you can't tell anyone, Julie," Kim said, putting a finger to her lips for a second. "Not even Grace … or Milton!"

Then something snapped, and when they looked at each other next, they knew they were both thinking the same thing.

They always parted from the crowd at the same time, which was around breakfast, lunch and dinner, before or after. There was no way he could sneak out with Kim at night because he liked his sleep. They were always swapping funny glances across the lunch table, which Jerry had teased Milton for a few days ago but he shook it off quite lightly.

Grace did have a boyfriend, Jerry, which counted as a heart.

They didn't want to believe it but all the proof was right there. Donna wasn't playing tricks of any kind, she just forgot to mention which so-called friend was stealing her man from her.

* * *

When Jerry had been called out of tap and jazz by Bobby Wasabi's secretary, he wasn't expecting to be in trouble of any kind. Maybe this was because sweet old Margaret had thankfully mentioned that he was in no type of trouble at all but the boss would have liked to have an urgent word with him, a word that could not wait any amount of time.

So he was sitting outside the office on a comfy chair, looking at the desk in front of him with a bouquet of peculiar flowers and several home magazines, even though none of the teenagers were interested in them and they were more pointed out to the guests from the outside world. He felt his leg tapping nervously because he could hear people talking in the office while he was sitting there, his track pants looking even blacker against the white cushion.

The door to the office opened, but there was no one there to guide him inside. Instead, he heard Bobby shouting from the inside of the office that he was allowed to enter, and he rose from his seat, taking slow and scared steps towards the door until he took a step inside the room finally.

He was surprised to see his mother there in the seat opposite of where he was supposed to be, but not in her usual dance choreographer uniform. Her hair was messy and her small fragile little face looking disturbed, her mascara smudged and her cheeks puffy. He nearly broke out into madness when he realized that his mother had been crying. Then the nervousness of what could have happened settled upon him.

And by the looks of Bobby's serious face, which seemed slightly sad, it wasn't good news. Nevertheless, Jerry took a seat and stared at his principal, hearing the soft sobs of his mother beside him and pretended like she wasn't there for a second. It didn't feel like she was there for a second because all he wanted to know was why she was in this state and why it was so freaking urgent that he needed to miss out on Joan's class, giving her something to hold him against?

"Well?" Jerry said, looking back and forth from the broken mother beside him and the blank faced man in front of him. "What happened? Why was I called out of class?"

Bobby sighed and said slowly, "Jerry, nobody else can hear of this. I'm only telling you and Mrs. Martinez because … you're like family to me. You two are the only people in this entire school who would understand what news like this would do to Jack, especially when he's seeming so happy."

"What news?" Jerry said quickly. "What news, Mr. Wasabi?"

There was a long pause in which Jerry's moth burst out into a new collection of loud sobs and put her face in her hands, collecting her tears in her palm. Jerry gulped and felt the tears coming as well. "Please don't tell him, Jerry," Bobby said, his sadness finally showing. "She wants to tell him herself, face to face."

"Who wants to tell Jack what face to face?"

Another pause.

"Jerry, his mother and Olive have been involved in a terrible accident."

* * *

**Song credit to the song that Jack had played on the piano in this chapter:**

Beyond – Matthew Mayer.

* * *

**A/N:**

Boom.

I don't know if that counts as a cliffhanger or whatever but hey. It's kind of a twist, and a bit of a sneak peak of all the drama that will be unleashed the next chapter, the chapter that will contain the same scene as the beginning part of this one, if I'm wording that correctly. There are many questions still unanswered my friends, but most of them will be answered next chapter, a chapter that will contain approximately eleven thousand words. I'm not joking when I say that. I've planned it out.

So I don't know when I'm going to update and I'm not going to promise anything because as you can see, I suck at that. But please take the time to review and follow and favorite. You don't know how much they motivate me and make me smile when I'm feeling down.

As usual, it's like almost twelve in South Africa and I'm about to pass out on my keyboard. I forced myself awake to write this so excuse the mistakes. And I'm just saying so I have it down somewhere in case people are willing to complain, I'm going to answer my PM's in the morning because I simply cannot now because there are twenty hundred thousand of them waiting for me, whoa. Obviously I'm joking when I say this. It just feels that way right now.

Okay, my lovely people. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and peace out.

Keep amazing,

Nia (: x


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